Yesterday evening, four Magic: the Gathering original art collectors and the leaders of the MTG Art Market announced the #MagicArtChallenge, an initiative to raise money for Black Lives Matter and Black causes by auctioning art and other items from Magic’s history.
The project was inspired by Gail Simone’s #ComicWritersChallenge, which raised over $300,000 in 10 days through the sale of original comic book artwork.
The #MagicArtChallenge team is made up of Mike Linnemann AKA “Vorthos Mike”, a collector, artist representative, and writer; Tatiana Dykes, a collector, professional artist representative, and convention organizer; Aaron Hamer, an organizer for the #ComicWritersChallenge; Paul Baranay, a senior Magic Judge; and the five admins of the MTG Art Market group: Mike, Tatiana, Jerry, Joshua, and Will.
Auctions are set to begin on the MTG Art Market on Facebook on Saturday June 20 and will run for approximately one week, with both art collectors and admin volunteers running the auctions over the course of a few days.
An initial list of works to be offered can be viewed in a public spreadsheet. Here are some of the highlights so far:
Grenzo, Dungeon Warden by Lucas Graciano, offered by Aaron Hamer publically for the first time ever, to benefit the Black Trans Protestors Emergency Fund.
Grenzo, Dungeon Warden by Lucas Graciano
Phantom Warrior by Greg Staples, offered by Commander Luminary and legend Sheldon Menery to benefit the Center for Black Equity.
Phantom Warrior by Greg Staples
Revitalize by Matt Stewart, offered by Amazing Discoveries to benefit the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
Revitalize by Matt Stewart
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker Original Sketch by Steven Belledin, offered by Will “The Gobfather” Larson to benefit the Center for Black Equity.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker Original Sketch by Steven Belledin
Nissa 4×4 Charity Canvas by Scott Murphy, offered by Jason Sirichoke to benefit The Okra Project.
Nissa 4×4 Charity Canvas by Scott Murphy
This is just a handful of the dozen and counting pieces of Magic art and Magic art adjacent items that will be sold over the next week. I’ll be throwing something into the ring as well, offering the original sketch to Carl Critchlow’s Angelic Rocket from Unstable, to benefit the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
Carl Critchlow’s Angelic Rocket from Unstable
Donations forms have been open for less than 24 hours, so keep checking the spreadsheet to see what exciting new pieces have been added!
Wrapping Up
Some Quick Links if you’d like to join the #MagicArtChallenge:
The Public Spreadsheet is here, with campaign information and a list of works to be sold
The Donation Form to join the campaign is here.
And finally, the MTG Art Market is where all the auctions will happen, beginning this Saturday.
I sincerely hope you check out this incredible initiative put together by some of the pillars in the Magic Art community. I’ll leave you with the words from #MagicArt Challenge Announcement:
“This is larger than all of us, and it is also about every single one of us. Together, we can make a difference and we hope you’ll participate in every way you can.”
For more information or if you have specific questions about the #MagicArtChallenge, you can reach organizer Paul Baranay on Facebook and Twitter.