Banksy art mistakenly whitewashed

14 July 2011 Last updated at 10:49 GMT Banksy's gorilla in a pink mask appeared on the wall of the former North Bristol Social Club in Eastville One of street artist Banksy's most famous early works in Bristol has been mistakenly painted over.

The gorilla in a pink mask on the wall of the ex-North Bristol Social Club, in Eastville, had been a familiar landmark in the area for more than 10 years.

But the building has recently been turned into a Muslim cultural centre.

New owner Saeed Ahmed assumed it was a regular piece of graffiti and had it painted over. "I thought it was worthless," he said.

He added: "I didn't know it was valuable and that's why I painted over it. I really am sorry if people are upset."

The wall was whitewashed by the new owner of the building who had never heard of Banksy

Local resident Dean Meadows described the whitewashing of the painting as a "big, big shame".

"It's currently being shared around the world on Twitter, so hopefully Banksy will hear and replace it himself," he said.

Mr Ahmed said he was willing to explore options to see if the whitewash can be removed and the painting restored.

View the original article here

Banksy sponsors free art admission

13 June 2011 Last updated at 12:56 GMT Some of Banksy's work is on display at the Art in the Streets exhibition Guerilla artist Banksy is sponsoring free admission to an exhibition on street art at a museum in Los Angeles.

Tickets to the Museum of Contemporary Art's Art in the Streets exhibition usually cost $10 (?6), but will be free every Monday thanks to the artist's "unprecedented" donation.

"I don't think you should have to pay to look at graffiti. You should only pay if you want to get rid of it," Banksy said in a statement.

The exhibition runs until 8 August.

"Moca is very grateful to Banksy for his unprecedented gesture," said the gallery's director and exhibition co-curator Jeffrey Deitch.

"Art in the Streets is drawing record attendance, and opening it up to everyone will have a lasting impact on communities in Los Angeles, many of whom have not been to the museum before," he added.

The exhibition is the first major US museum survey of graffiti and street art tracing the development of the art from the 1970s to today, concentrating on key cities such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, and Sao Paulo.

It features paintings, mixed media sculptures and interactive installations by 50 artists including Banksy.

The exhibition will travel to the Brooklyn Museum in 2012, although it it not yet known if Banksy will repeat his donation.

View the original article here