Khan was made an OBE in 2017
(Picture: Handout)Artist Idris Khan said he was “overwhelmed” by the success of his collaboration with the Evening Standard and Migrate Art which raised more than £200,000 to help people affected by the invasion of Ukraine.
All the profits from his work I Thought We Had More Time…, featuring the colours of the Ukrainian flag in watercolours over collaged music paper, will go to the Disasters Emergency Committee.
It was sold online, as part of the Evening Standard Ukraine Appeal, for £300 to customers around the world for a limited 10-day period through Simon Butler’s Migrate Art organisation which regularly works with artists to raise funds for refugees and amassed a total of £201,055.
Khan, who was made an OBE in 2017, said it was “an unbelievable project to be part of”. He added: “It really did exceed our expectations. Simon and I hoped that we would get to around £100,000 and we would be happy. But to reach double that, and some more, we were completely overwhelmed.
“Thank you to everyone who bought a print and everyone involved in making this a huge success.
With special thanks to the Evening Standard and Migrate Art for making this happen so quickly. My arm will be aching after signing all the prints — but it will be worth it.”
According to the UN, more than four million people have been made refugees since the war began.
Simon Butler, who started working for high end contemporary art galleries including White Cube, said he set up Migrate Art after a visit to a refugee camp in France.
He said: “I was working for Damien Hirst when I went to the Calais jungle for the first time in 2016 and it just changed my perspective on the world and I wanted to combine this world of extreme wealth and contemporary art with this newer world of the refugee crisis.”
