Birds for Sofia

Birds for Sofia began as an Instagram campaign. In August 2020, Sugarlift, the artist Dina Brodsky and the family of a baby named Sofia, who had been diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, launched #birdsforsofia to win her access to a one-time treatment that insurance would not cover. Artists answered with birds. Within days the hashtag had spread through the art community, more than 1,500 painted and hand-drawn birds flooded the accounts of Novartis, which makes the treatment, and in less than a month an anonymous donor stepped in to close the family's funding gap.

With Sofia's treatment secured, the birds kept working. Sugarlift and High Line Nine mounted an art benefit exhibition in Chelsea with work by 50 artists, and proceeds from purchases went to the Muscular Dystrophy Association and Cure SMA, to help many more infants with neuromuscular disorders.

The exhibition opened with a reception on September 17, 2020, held under social distancing rules, and ran through October 24. A large blue bird and the campaign hashtag anchored a salon wall of paintings, drawings and small sculptures, and a great pair of wings was suspended at the back of the gallery. The artists included Adele Renault, Brenda Zlamany, Daniel Maidman, Jane Kim, London Kaye, Lorraine Loots and Steven Spazuk, alongside Dina Brodsky.