At the fourth annual UNICEF Charity Summer Gala, presented by LuisaViaRoma and held on July 30 in Capri, Italy, Refik Anadol’s data sculpture Sense of Healing broke the new media artist’s auction record at €1.7M. The artwork, commissioned by Mental Health Initiative MYND and Impact One, is the largest and first neurotherapeutic AI data sculpture to be produced using human brain data. The proceeds of the artwork auction will go towards UNICEF’s charitable programmes.

The groundbreaking data sculpture was first premiered at Aurora Institute’s Evening of Discovery in St Tropez earlier that month, where twelve NFT editions of the artwork were sold at €120k each, raising more than €1.4M in proceeds that will benefit mental health initiatives, including Klitschko and Kevin Love Fund. In total, over €3M was raised for charitable causes.

The sale of Sense of Healing at auction follows on from the success of the UNICEF Summer Gala of 2021. Art collective DRIFT, in partnership with Therme Art and MindMaze, exhibited Franchise Freedom, the flying sculpture comprising 200 drones, that took its inaugural flight of the year at the event. The work was donated to the gala as a part of Sotheby’s Charity initiative, with proceeds directed to UNICEF programmes in support of child health and nutrition, safe water and sanitation, quality education and skill building.

Read about Refik Anadol’s press coverage by The New York Times and Artnet News.

Pictured above: Auctioneer Simon de Pury and Artist Refik Anadol.
All images by Lorenzo Palizzolo / Getty Images for Luisaviaroma.