CfC St. Moritz is pleased to announce a two-part charity art auction hosted in partnership with UNICEF Switzerland and Liechtenstein and Christie’s to benefit Giga.
The two-part auction will take place in January 2024 with a live auction held on January 11, 2024, during CfC St. Moritz, and an online auction hosted by Christie’s 3.0 and curated by Nina Roehrs (Roehrs & Boetsch) from January 24 – 31, 2024. The two auctions will be united under the theme “Creating Connections – Digital Art for Connectivity” and will be held to jointly support Giga, a UNICEF and International Telecom Union (ITU) initiative to connect every school and student to the Internet and information.
The first auction takes place live on January 11, 2024, on the second day of the CfC St. Moritz conference at the Suvretta House St. Moritz. It features three bespoke pieces from acclaimed contemporary artist Cole Sternberg, who is the visualist for Giga’s forthcoming NFT2.0 initiative. The second auction, online and on-chain, will be facilitated by renowned global auction house Christie’s and will feature a curated selection of artworks by Nina Roehrs from around 20 donating digital artists, including a 1/1 generative digital work by Cole Sternberg. It will run from January 24–31, 2024.
Chris Fabian, Co-Founder of Giga, said: “The long-term collaboration we have established with CfC St. Moritz provides Giga and UNICEF with much-needed access to new industries. The two auctions are a great opportunity to put a spotlight on the work we do with Giga, but the partnership goes even further, as we connect on specific initiatives and the CfC St. Moritz provides us with introductions to people and institutions able to support Giga, especially as we build our global headquarters here in Switzerland.”
Nicolo Stoehr, CEO of the CfC St. Moritz added: “Since the start of our collaboration in 2022, the mission of Giga to connect every school to the internet and every young person to information, opportunity, and choice, has been dear to our hearts. With a platform like ours, which has education and information at its center, we want to use the opportunity to take impactful action to support that mission.”
Live Auction at CfC St. Moritz, featuring artwork by Cole Sternberg
On the second day of the exclusive investor conference CfC St. Moritz, conference participants and additional invited guests will have the opportunity to participate in the “Creating Connections – Digital Art for Connectivity” auction taking place at the Suvretta House. Hosted by CfC St. Moritz, Bertold Mueller, Delegate of UNICEF Switzerland and Liechtenstein and Managing Director of Christie’s EMEA will auction three bespoke art pieces by Cole Sternberg, inspired by Switzerland’s Engadin region to benefit Giga. Sternberg is a California-based contemporary conceptual artist known for his thought-provoking and socially conscious artworks. The artist will be present for both the auction itself and a lunch roundtable of his practice.
In September 2023, Sternberg traveled to the Engadin to capture visuals using a vintage 1970s Canon 35mm camera, a notebook, and a laptop. Each piece is prefaced by that journey as well as the history of the region. In a traditional painting, a standalone NFT, and an art piece merging physical media with digital art forms, Sternberg narrates a compelling story, spanning from glacial threats to Vaslav Nijinsky’s final dance. The works developed by Sternberg for both the live and online auctions artfully weave together and coalesce into a sublime ode to the natural beauty of this special place.
- “ample shade for ferns and lilies” is a large-scale painting across three panels of Italian linen measuring 172.7 cm x 274.3 cm. Sternberg merges his photography of the region with painterly techniques and exposure to environmental elements to produce a robust synthesis of abstraction and materiality in the work.
- “he staggered under the burden of the empire” is Sternberg’s first standalone 1/1 digital work (NFT). In the piece, Sternberg merges painterly layers with vintage photography featuring Vaslav Nijinsky, who performed his last public dance in the Suvretta House on January 19th, 1919. The work captures both the joy and haunting nature of the historic moment, while also preserving Nijinsky’s steps, which appear to still echo within the hotel.
- “somewhere in between” A merging of physical media with digitality, this piece serves as the apotheosis of the Artist’s experience in the Engadin region. With each element being produced in tandem with the environment, it blurs the lines between the earthly and the synthetic, between organic human composition and biomimicry. The painterly element was exposed to the environment of the Engadin, the digital component features photographic and painterly elements created in the region, and the sculptural rock acts as a sage, looking onto the painting and screen akin to the mountains peering down on the lake. It is the Artist’s first combination of digital and physical work in a singular sculpture.
UNICEF & Christie’s On-Chain Auction to Benefit Giga
The second – online and on-chain – “Creating Connections – Digital Art for Connectivity” auction features artworks donated by around 20 digital native artists to benefit Giga, and runs from January 24 – 31, 2024.
Curated by Nina Roehrs – expert for art in the digital age – Christie’s 3.0 will auction around 20 artworks generously donated by 0xDEAFBEEF, Kevin Abosch, Daniel Calderon, Mitchell F Chan, Sofia Crespo x Anna Ridler, DADA Collective, Linda Dounia, Emily Edelman, Andreas Gysin, Mario Klingemann, Jennifer and Kevin McCoy, Sarah Meyohas, Luis Ponce, ROBNESS, Helena Sarin, Cole Sternberg, Sasha Stiles, and more. In the wake of the live auction, contemporary artist Cole Sternberg will also add an artwork to this auction.
During the CfC St. Moritz from January 10 – 12, 2024, a preview of the auction lots will be presented. The auction is open to the public. To bid in this auction, clients must connect a digital wallet and set up a Christie’s 3.0 account. Interested participants can pre-register now at nft.christies.com.
Bertold Mueller, Delegate of UNICEF Switzerland and Liechtenstein and Christie’s Managing Director, EMEA, said, “It is wonderful for Christie’s to partner with CfC St. Moritz and UNICEF Switzerland and Liechtenstein for the second time to raise awareness and funds for Giga, a great initiative to support children around the globe with much needed access to information, opportunity and choice. We are particularly honored to be entrusted by so many fantastic international artists in offering their artworks for such a worthy cause.”
Each year, the CfC St. Moritz attracts a maximum of 250 carefully selected international investors, family offices, funds, and decision-makers from both the traditional and the new world of finance in the picturesque Swiss Alps. For three days, opinion leaders and high-ranking representatives from governmental and supranational bodies, the private sector, academia, and decentralized organizations exchange their knowledge on digital assets, blockchain, and traditional finance.
For more information, please visit unicef.ch/en/events/2024-01-24/creating-connections.
Interested people unable to attend the live auction can submit a written bid or participate in the auction by telephone. Further information: info@cfc-stmoritz.com
About the CfC St. Moritz
The CfC St. Moritz is an intimate circle of hand-picked opinion leaders and investors in the private and unique setting of the Swiss Alps. The yearly application-only conference fosters a culture of genuine connection and deliberately admits a maximum of only 250 international UHNWI, family offices, funds, and institutional investors, uniting the traditional finance sector and the crypto industry. The CfC St. Moritz was founded in 2017 and has since conducted five in-person conferences in St. Moritz, one in Half Moon Bay, California, two virtual conferences during the pandemic and several smaller events. The conference employs three people throughout the year with that number rising to 45 during the conference and is led by CEO and President of the Board, Nicolo Stoehr.
About UNICEF
UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, has over 75 years of experience in development cooperation and emergency aid. UNICEF works in more than 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child. Its core missions include programs focusing on health, nutrition, education, clean water, hygiene, and child welfare. UNICEF is financed entirely by voluntary contributions and is represented in Switzerland and Liechtenstein through the Committee for UNICEF Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
UNICEF does not endorse any company, brand, product or service.
About Giga
Giga is a global initiative by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to connect every school to the Internet and every young person to information, opportunity, and choice. Against the backdrop of rapidly evolving digital technologies, it is unimaginable that one-third of humanity – or 2.6 billion people – still remain offline. Among them are children who are at risk of falling behind, simply because they don’t have access to the Internet and the learning opportunities that come along with it. Giga is bridging this gap by creating open-source technologies and procurement solutions that help governments connect schools to the Internet. Powered by the latest technologies in artificial intelligence, mapping, and blockchain technology, Giga has provided connectivity support to thousands of schools around the world.
Since its inception in 2019, Giga and its partners have connected nearly 6,000 schools and 2.4 million students to the Internet.
About Cole Sternberg
Cole Sternberg is a contemporary conceptual artist known for his thought-provoking and socially conscious artworks. Sternberg’s creative expression is marked by a deep exploration of various mediums and processes, including painting, sculpture, digital, installation, and literary work. His work often reflects his profound engagement with the world’s complex socio-political issues, inviting viewers to contemplate themes of environment, community, and the human condition.
Sternberg’s works are held by major collections, such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), the El Segundo Museum of Art (ESMoA), the American University Museum (AUM), and Deutsche Telekom. He has been featured in numerous publications such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Architectural Digest, Elle, LA Weekly, Autra, Elephant, and Flaunt.
Sternberg is the Visualist for Giga’s forthcoming NFT2.0 initiative, creating digital art and commentary to communicate Giga’s data strategy via an organic visual perspective.
About Christie’s
Founded in 1766, Christie’s is a world-leading art and luxury business with a physical presence in 46 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, and flagship international sales hubs in New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva. Renowned and trusted for our expert live and online-only auctions, as well as bespoke Private Sales, Christie’s unparalleled network of specialists offers our clients a full portfolio of global services, including art appraisal, art financing, international real estate and education. Christie’s auctions span more than 80 art and luxury categories, at price points ranging from $500 to over $100 million. Christie’s has sold 7 of the 10 most important single-owner collections in history, achieved the world record price for an artwork at auction, launched the first fully on-chain auction platform dedicated to exceptional NFT art and manages an investment fund to support innovative startups in the art market. Christie’s is also committed to advancing responsible culture throughout its business and communities worldwide. To learn more, browse, bid, discover, and join us for the best of art and luxury at christies.com or by downloading Christie’s apps.