The Art of Banksy Exhibition

A bank of the anonymous artist’s works!

As most Londoners know, there was going to be a Banksy exhibition in Soho since banners and hints were posted there that it was coming once more to the city.

It has finally opened and is only a (more or less) 5-minute walk from Tottenham Court Road Station.

If you have lived in the UK for a few years now, you must have heard about Banksy or seen one of his artworks in certain places (e.g., Bristol, London, etc.).

However, if you’re not familiar with the artist and his works, then allow us the honor to introduce you to him!

Banksy is an anonymous English street artist who incorporates a political or social take in his art.

First started in Bristol, Banksy made whimsical and satirical art on the streets, walls, and other public objects. Over time, his name grew, and he began to spread his art in different parts of the world, such as Ukraine, Bethlehem, and many other places, where he shared his political opinion through art.

If you’re interested in how he displays his opinions artistically, then this museum has all of his artworks for you to examine.

The exhibition houses over 150 pieces of his original works, meaning you don’t have to travel all around the UK or the world to view his extensive collection.

The entry ticket is £15 if you book in advance online, which we recommend because buying it at the counter costs £17.50.

The exhibition was really an interesting curation; it gives us a glimpse of Banksy’s mind, with his quotes on the walls and little details about him and his art techniques.

It displays art from his early days to some of his recent works. We are unsure if the exhibition flows in chronological order because it doesn’t always state the dates of the art.

It was interesting to learn that Banksy has opened his own dystopian Disneyland called Dismaland, which you would never think an artist, let alone a street artist, would do.

Moreover, he has become so popular that he even designs the covers of musicians’ albums.

One thing we found disappointing was that we finished going through the exhibition in less than one hour, which we thought wasn’t worth the money and even Banksy himself would not pay for it.

Nevertheless, the end of the exhibition is the gift shop, which is filled with many kinds of merchandise with his famous artworks printed on it.

We definitely liked the merch as it was so appealing, creative and fun.

However, if you are like me and need a long time to ponder on whether you should buy something, then the gift shop is always open to the public, without even needing to go through the exhibition.

Overall, we enjoyed learning about Banksy and his reasoning behind his amazing works but we wished the price would be lower than it is since it was a short exhibition.

This exhibition will be here until January 2025 and a small disclaimer that this exhibition isn’t curated or authorised by Banksy.

Location:

100 Charing Cross Road, London

WC2H 0JG

Written By Althea Scully