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Press Release

Leila Heller is excited to announce two groundbreaking collections by world renowned, British Artist, Sacha Jafri - his long awaited ‘18 Year Retrospective’ and ‘The Journey of Humanity’, which sits under his record breaking charitable initiative, ‘Humanity Inspired’. 

In Jafri’s words: “ ‘The Journey of Humanity’ is the culmination of my career to date, it has been my own, personal journey of Art & Philanthropy. The power of these two collections coming together will be historical & breathtaking.” 

18 Year Retrospective 

The 18-year Retrospective (2001 – 2019), having launched at the Saatchi Gallery in 2019 (the World Tour having been paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic), will be re-launched at Leila Heller Gallery from 20th January to 31st May 2021. This seminal moment will be the first time Jafri’s greatest works, from the much anticipated 18 Year Retrospective, will be available for sale. 

‘The Journey of Humanity’ 

Jafri’s record-breaking painting, ‘The Journey of Humanity’, scales over 17,000 square feet and was created in the Ballroom at Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai, which was converted into the largest art studio in the world, for a period of seven months during Covid-19 (Feb-Oct 2020). 

Jafri, having worked 20 hours a day, for a seven-month period, using 1400 gallons of paint and over a thousand brushes, now officially holds the Guinness World Records title for the ‘Largest Art Canvas’ in the world. 

Since moving from the Atlantis Ballroom, this monumental painting has been broken down into numbered, signed, catalogued, and framed canvases. 70 individually framed pieces of ‘The Journey of Humanity’ will be sold across four auctions in 2021, for Humanity Inspired and aims to raise more than USD$30 million. The charitable initiative is part of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Global Initiatives and is now considered the largest worldwide social, artistic and philanthropic initiative in history. 

Humanity Inspired has already reached over 2.5bn people across the world, in over 140 countries. 

Jafri, widely known as one of our greatest Humanitarian Artists is committed to supporting the reshaping of the future of education through global connectivity, as well as providing funds, infrastructure and support for healthcare and sanitation in the world’s poorest regions. The Humanity Inspired initiative is working in partnership with Dubai Cares, UNICEF, UNESCO, The Global Gift Foundation, UNHCR, and the UAE Government. 

Prior to the Humanity Inspired auctions, the painting will return to the Atlantis Ballroom for a Royal Unveiling on the 25th February 2021. This will be the first time that the canvas is ‘reunited’, with each framed piece assembled, recreating the original painting which is now described as the ‘Modern Day Sistine Chapel’. To celebrate the unveiling, guests will be inspired by a performance from one of opera’s greatest talents, Juan Diego Flórez. 

“I hope for my work to act as an electric shock to our senses, ignite and inspire the spirit, uplift the soul, re awaken something that often lies dormant or asleep within, and keep the beauty, the purity, and the magic of the child within us all forever.” 

Jafri’s 18-Year Retrospective, along with select pieces of The Journey of Humanity, will be on first display at Leila Heller Gallery from January 20th 2021.

For sales inquiries, please reach out to Leila Heller at leila@leilaheller.com & Shanti Veigas at shanti@leilaheller.com 

For press inquiries, reach out to connect@humanity-inspired.com & Ella at ella@leilaheller.com