Nottingham Banksy wall owners speak out about decision to remove famous artwork
Housing & Regeneration
The owners of the wall on which Nottingham's Banksy appeared last year have spoken about their decision to remove the mural and sell the complete artwork to a gallery owner.
Speaking exclusively to Nottinghamshire Live, the owners of the property in Radford, who do not wish to be named, have described the difficult process which led to their decision to remove the work and donate it.
The property, on the corner of Ilkeston Road and Rothesay Avenue in Radford, is owned by a private landlord who rents the building out to the occupier. The building is not owned by the tenant and the tenant is not involved in the sale of the artwork.
The owner have issued the following statement: “In October we had a bit of a shock finding that someone had graffitied on our property. When we realised it could be a ‘Banksy’, despite us not wanting it to remain on the wall, we immediately started to see if we could donate it locally.
"Unfortunately, despite substantial discussions with a number of local organisations, charities and national bodies over the past four months, none were able to commit to taking ownership of the art for various reasons. Once it was clear that we would be unable to gift it, we explored other options and have sold it to Brandler Galleries.
"Since we were unable to donate the artwork itself, we’ll be donating the proceeds privately instead. We want to thank the local community for the support they’ve given to the art, from those cleaning the protective screen, Kyle for replacing the bike and to Nottingham City Council for keeping visitors safe. We hope it brought some joy to people in an otherwise difficult time.”
The work first came to attention on a wall off Ilkeston Road in Nottingham on Thursday, October 15.
World famous street artist Banksy confirmed the was his own creation on his instagram page a few days later.
The owners declined to say what price the artwork had raised when we asked them.
Written by Joseph Locker - Nottingham Post