Christie’s to Host Auction in Support of Ocean Health With Works Donated by More Than 20 Leading Artists

Christie’s is partnering with U.K.-based ocean protection charity Blue Marine Foundation to raise funds through a sale of works by leading contemporary artists during an October week of major London sales.

“Blue: Art for the Ocean” will include works from more than 20 artists, including Serbian performance artist Marina Abramović, Japanese painter Yoshitomo Nara, English artist Lydia Blakeley, English potter and author Edmund de Waal, and German painter Jonas Burgert.

Christie’s announced the first three pieces to be auctioned, including a photograph of Abramović from a May 2024 filming of a separate project that shows the artist on the shores of Fire Island, N.Y.

“My Performance for the Oceans artwork for the auction blends my artistic vision with environmental consciousness,” Abramović said in a news release. The image is one of three from the film that Christie’s will sell for between £50,000 and £70,000 (US$64,012 and US$89,617), according to Blue Marine, citing the Sunday Times of London.

The other two pieces are an underwater painting by Blakeley titled The Hunters and an illustration by Nara titled Walk On .

The foundation works toward ocean health by putting a spotlight on overfishing and efforts to protect critical marine ecosystems around the world.

Christie’s expects to announce a full lineup of lots and price estimates in the coming weeks, according to a company spokesperson. The auction will be held during Christie’s annual Frieze Week sales of 20th- and 21st-century art.

Alibaba Group co-founder Jack Ma said competition will make the company stronger and the e-commerce giant needs to trust in the power of market forces and innovation, according to an internal memo to commemorate the company’s 25th anniversary.

“Many of Alibaba’s business face challenges and the possibility of being surpassed, but that’s to be expected as no single company can stay at the top forever in any industry,” Ma said in a letter sent to employees late Tuesday, seen by The Wall Street Journal.

Once a darling of Wall Street and the dominant player in China’s e-commerce industry, the tech giant’s growth has slowed amid a weakening Chinese economy and subdued consumer sentiment. Intensifying competition from homegrown upstarts such as PDD Holdings ’ Pinduoduo e-commerce platform and ByteDance’s short-video app Douyin has also pressured Alibaba’s growth momentum.

“Only with competition can we become stronger and allow the industry to remain healthy,” Ma said.

The letter came after Alibaba recently completed a three-year regulatory process in China.

Chinese regulators said in late August that they have completed their monitoring and evaluation of Alibaba after the company was penalized over monopolistic practices in 2021. Over the past three years, the company has been required to submit self-evaluation compliance reports to market regulators.

Ma reiterated Alibaba’s ambition of being a company that can last 102 years. He urged Alibaba’s employees to not flounder in the midst of challenges and competition.

“The reason we’re Alibaba is because we have idealistic beliefs, we trust the future, believe in the market. We believe that only a company that can create real value for society can keep operating for 102 years,” he said.

Ma himself has kept a low profile since late 2020 when financial affiliate Ant Group called off initial public offerings in Hong Kong and Shanghai that had been on track to raise more than $34 billion.

In a separate internal letter in April, he praised Alibaba’s leadership and its restructuring efforts after the company split the group into six independently run companies.

Alibaba recently completed the conversion of its Hong Kong secondary listing into a primary listing, and on Tuesday was added to a scheme allowing investors in mainland China to trade Hong Kong-listed shares.

Alibaba shares fell 1.2% to 80.60 Hong Kong dollars, or equivalent of US$10.34, by midday Wednesday, after rising 4.2% on Tuesday following the Stock Connect inclusion. The company’s shares are up 6.9% so far this year.