Galleries at Frieze pledge support for sustainability charity

A Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) initiative at Frieze’s two London art fairs has seen participating galleries pledge to give the sustainability charity a percentage of sales made on specified works of art.

The “10% of” initiative has been launched to mark the fifth anniversary of GCC, which was set up in October 2020 to provide environmental sustainability guidelines for the arts sector. GCC is a charity with over 2,000 member organisations in more than 60 countries. Membership is free and offers access to sector-specific tools and guidance that support decarbonisation and material circularity.

GCC director Heath Lowndes said that the vast majority of the industry's emissions come from three sources – moving artworks by air freight, business travel by airplane and energy consumption from buildings. 

“International art fairs face many of the sector’s challenges but within compressed timeframes and often in complex temporary environments, which – without strong coordination – can magnify impacts,” Lowndes said.

GCC is planning to release its Stocktake Report during its inaugural Art + Climate Week in mid-November. The report will analyse data collected via its Carbon Calculator – an online tool for estimating the greenhouse gas emissions of art organisations and projects.

There are 29 galleries at Frieze London and Frieze Masters (15-19 October) taking part in the “10% of” initiative. These companies have nominated a total of 43 artworks where 10% of the sale price will be given to GCC.

Frieze London (168 galleries) and Frieze Masters (137 galleries) take place on 15-19 October. There are galleries from 45 countries represented across both fairs.

“The funds raised [from the “10% of” initiative] will help us maintain and improve our Carbon Calculator, the only tool of its kind designed specifically for artists, galleries and museums to measure and reduce their footprints; keep core resources current, including the Artist and Art Fair toolkits; generate data that informs evidence-based decisions; and recognise leadership through our Active Membership badge.

“They also enable targeted advocacy, and support cross-sector convening so artists, galleries, institutions, collectors and operations teams can share what works on shipping, travel and energy.

“In short, voluntary contributions through '10% of' let GCC continue to provide the open, practical infrastructure the sector relies on, while accelerating collective progress well beyond any single organisation.”

Last year, GCC co-developed the Art Fair Toolkit for Environmental Responsibility. The toolkit standardises exhibitor requests, aligns data collection, and sets practical actions across shipping, travel, energy, materials, waste and communications, so solutions are shared rather than siloed or reinvented fair to fair, said Lowndes.

Fairs working with GCC have committed to measure and publish their impacts and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by 2030 while working towards near-zero waste, creating visibility and accountability across the circuit.

More than 40 individual fair events, including Art Basel, Frieze and Tefaf, are involved.

Elsewhere at Frieze

Victoria and Albert Museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum launched a three-year partnership with the Art Explora Foundation at Frieze. The aim is to increase engagement with the arts in the four East London boroughs (Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Newham and Waltham Forest) around V&A East Storehouse and V&A East Museum.

The 2024 Turner Prize-winning artist Jasleen Kaur has been chosen for the inaugural Art Explora Art Commission at V&A East.

Art Explora is a non-profit arts organisation founded by philanthropist Frédéric Jousset in 2019 with offices in France and the UK.

Walker Art Gallery

The Contemporary Arts Society Collections Fund has acquired two works for the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool – one by Shaqúelle Whyte (In an embroiled fashion, 2025) and the other by Michael Landy (Multi-Saint, 2013).

Arts Council Collection

The Arts Council Collection acquired a number of works at Frieze. They are Alex Margo Arden’s Accounts, 2025, from Ginny on Frederick gallery; Vanessa Raw’s She Sang Me Her Song, 2025, from Carl Freedman Gallery; Liorah Tchiprout’s The Well is Poisoned Yet Still You Drink (Holloway Gothic I), 2025, from Pippy Houldsworth Gallery; Sarah Ball’s Petros, 2025, from Stephen Friedman Gallery; and Olu Ogunnaike’s A Touch Up?, 2025, from Hollybush Gardens.

Tate

Tate has acquired two works through the Frieze Tate Fund, which is made possible by £150,000 of philanthropic support. The works are Lubna Chowdhary’s Assembly, 2025, from Jhaveri Contemporary, and Barbara Walker’s End of the Affair II, 2025, from Victoria Miro.

Since Frieze London first launched in 2003, Tate has acquired over 170 works by more than 100 artists at the fair.

In addition to the Frieze Tate Fund, a further work was acquired from the fair as a promised gift from Lance Uggla to Tate’s collection. This was Madge Gill’s Untitled (Venus Mid Heaven), 1920/30, from the Gallery of Everything.