Christie’s, the 248-year-old renowned auction house, is hosting an online digital art auction to raise funds for the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR). Announced on Oct. 16, the auction, dubbed Bridging Worlds: Digital Art Beyond Borders Benefiting UNHCR, will take place on Christie's 3.0, an Ethereum-based auction platform, from Oct. 23 through Oct. 30. The project is the brainchild of Leila Khazaneh, the Innovation Advisor to Switzerland for UNHCR and a digital art collector. A “significant portion” of the auction's proceeds will go to the UNHCR. “By participating, artists contributed to a global conversation, using their art to transcend boundaries while supporting UNHCR’s mission to assist refugees and displaced communities around the world,” Christie’s said. The auction will feature works from notable artists, including Andreas Gysin, Deafbeef, Emi Kusano, and Erick Calderon. Calderon founded Art Blocks, a platform enabling artists to create code that collectors use to generate and mint unique artworks on Ethereum, and created Chromie Squiggle, the first collection created using Art Blocks. Calderon invited digital artists from around the world to reinterpret Chromie Squiggle from the perspective of challenging both literal and metaphorical borders. The call attracted 200 submissions and the winning artwork will feature in the auction. “For millions of refugees and displaced people around the world, crossing borders has meant a lot of uncertainty and separation from their loved ones,” said Cristina Davies, Executive Director, Switzerland for UNHCR. “Through this initiative, digital artists are not only challenging the concept of borders but also helping to bridge the gap between those forced to flee and the global community.” Micol Ap, the CEO of VerticalCrypto Art, a web3 curatorial studio focusing on art, music, and fashion, curated the artworks that will feature in the auction. A real-life event will also take place in Geneva on Oct. 24 gathering participating artists, organizations, and collectors to celebrate digital art and cryptophilanthropy. Christie’s was an early adopter of blockchain-based art, with the business hosting its first NFT auction in October 2020. In 2021, Christie’s also hosted the landmark auction for Everydays: The First 5,000 Days, an NFT artwork from Beeple, which sold for $69.3 million.