€70K raised through 'Art for Syria'

This Wednesday, we finally gathered for our Art for Syria auction. The gallery space at TOM REICHSTEIN contemporary in Hamburg felt charged in the best possible way; anticipation in the air, a full house and artworks catching the light just right. When Dr. Philipp Württemberg took the floor, the room came alive. His sharp wit and instinct for timing kept bidders on their toes and the evening moving with an ease that only experience brings.

By the final bid, it was with excitement, and a touch of disbelief, that we could close the night with €70,000 raised!

That number carries real weight.
The auction is part of Aid Pioneers’ ongoing work in Syria where the healthcare system is still struggling to recover from more than a decade of war. Through this project, we’re helping restore hospitals in northwest Syria, combining medical equipment with solar energy to power incubators, keep vaccines cold and bring light back to operating rooms.

We owe this evening to many people: to Dr. Philipp Württemberg, for leading the auction with precision and energy; to Henrietta Frankenheim, who shaped the evening from beginning to end; and, at the heart of it all, to the artists who gave their works: Tamina Amadyar, Hannah Bohnen, Sarice Brudet, Jeongmoon Choi, Marta Djourina, Uwe Duettmann, Henrik Eiben, GRAU, Katharina Grosse, Georg Haberler, Henri Haake, Margareta Hesse, Gregor Hildebrandt, Daniel Hörner, Verena Issel, Lunita July-Dorn, Felix Kiessling, Milena Kling, Mischa Kuball, Caroline Kryzecki, Vincent Matuschka, Hannah Parr, Maximilian Rödel, Rolf Sachs, Finja Sander, Kerim Seiler, Jorinde Voigt and Ingeborg zu Schleswig-Holstein.

Thanks also to Susanne Walter and her team for the delicious and beautifully presented spread, Gut Hermannsberg for the refreshments, and Fine Art Service for framing several of the works. To everyone who bid in person, online, or by phone, thank you for participating.

Von Claus Friede and Mathias von Marcard brought a special touch with the sale of Yvonne von Schweinitz’s photography catalogs from 1950s Syria, with all proceeds going to the project (available here). And Andy Zingler, with his one-of-a-kind dinner that raised €3,200, reminded us that generosity can take many shapes.

To MCDS Services, who helped clean up the gallery, and to friends and volunteers who lent a hand - thank you!

Now comes the part we look forward to most. In the coming months, the €70,000 raised will be funneled into the restoration of healthcare services in Syria for hundreds of thousands of people.

We’ll keep sharing how it unfolds. For now, thank you for proving once again that art can touch real lives.