ME London is to host the Stealing Banksy? exhibition, a 2014 project exploring the social, legal and moral issues surrounding the sale of street art. Taking place from 24th April, before a live auction on 27th, the exhibition will display the most expensive collection of Banksy artworks ever assembled under one roof.
In the month leading up to the exhibition, the hotel’s Foster + Partners-deisgned nine-storey-high atrium will be home to an iconic Banksy, before the remaining pieces, including No Ball Games, OldSkool, Liverpool Rat, Ballooon Girl, Sperm Alarm, Silent Majority and 2 Rats are installed.
Over £5m of the most well-known Banksy artwork – carefully sourced from around the world by The Sincura Group – will be on display in the hotel. The exhibition is the culmination of a 12 month project to uncover, salvage and restore these pieces that have shaped the capital.
The exhibition will conclude with a live auction of the pieces, to be beamed live across all Meliá’s ME hotels in the world. No Ball Games, the most expensive Banksy restoration to date, is expected to go for £1m. The profits will be donated to local charities.
Fabio Gallo, GM at ME London, comments: “As part of our ongoing commitment to art and culture, we are excited to be hosting the Stealing Banksy? exhibition at ME London. This is a unique opportunity to share the city’s rich street art culture with our guests, and a one-off chance for Londoners to see 20 pieces that have never been displayed to the public before.”
