The Art of Banksky exhibition will be coming to Toronto for a limited four-week run, June 13 to July 11, 2018.

Corey Ross, President, Starvox Entertainment, Michel Boersma, Senior Vice President Family Entertainment & Theatre, Live Nation, and Steve Lazarides, Exhibition Curator made this massive announcement at a press conference held in Toronto on May 7, 2018. The exhibition will feature 80 original works from the infamous street artist known as Bansky, the largest ever assembled. The $35 million dollar exhibition has been touring the world, with stops in Melbourne, Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, and Auckland, and now Toronto has the honour of being the first city to host the exhibition in North America.

Banksy, who refrains from revealing his identity and does not appear in public, is an English social activist, who is also considered one of the world’s top political graffiti artists. His various works, which in addition to paintings, also include sculptures and special displays, are seen on city walls, bridges and streets throughout the world.

Curated by Steve Lazarides, the artist’s former manager, this exhibition will include the famous painting known as “Girl and Balloon”, “Flag Wall”, an urbanized take on the famous picture of soldiers raising the U.S. flag at Iwo Jima, and the controversial work “Laugh Now” – a witty graffiti piece that depicts a monkey with a sign hanging from his neck with the words: “Laugh now, but one day we’ll be in charge.”

The majority of paintings in this exhibition were originally exhibited and sold in some of Banksy’s seminal shows, including ‘Turf Wars’ and ‘Barely Legal’. These and all others on display at this exhibition have never appeared as street art, and were purposely created for the purpose of display. Lazarides said one of the pieces is seven metres high, and has only been shown publicly once before, in Los Angeles over a decade ago.

The Toronto exhibition will be mounted in a raw warehouse space at 213 Sterling Road, an area in west end of Toronto that is quickly becoming a creative hub for artists. This once empty warehouse district is now the new home of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Anansi Press, Henderson Brewing and Drake Commissary.

Presented by Starvox Exhibits, a new division of Starvox Entertainment, known for their live theatre productions, this is their inaugural exhibition being produced in partnership with Live Nation. “I am proud to be able to have a collection of this calibre as the first exhibit under our new business division and in association with Live Nation,” commented Corey Ross, President & CEO, Starvox Exhibits.

Banksy previously dazzled Toronto back in 2010, when a few pieces of his work appeared around the city as part of a promo tour for the documentary film about him, titled Exit Through The Gift Shop.

“This is a one-of-a-kind exhibition. You will never again have the opportunity to see this many of Banksy’s works in one place. Once the exhibition is over, the artwork will be returned to art collectors around the world, and the chances that they will be displayed together again in the future are extremely slim,” stated Steve Lazarides. He also indicated there will be a music and film component to the exhibition as well, and hopes “the political aspect of the works will get people talking.”

The exhibit is scheduled to be in Toronto for four weeks only. Advance tickets are available through American Express “Front of the Line” beginning Monday, May 7, while general tickets go on sale beginning Saturday, May 12 at 10:00 a.m. and are available online , with a limited quantity of tickets also available on site at 213 Sterling Ave, starting on June 13. Ticket price is $35.00 and there will be a total of 50,000 available, both timed and general admission.

The Art of Banksy
June 13 to July 11, 2018
213 Sterling Road, Toronto
www.banksyexhibit.com

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.