Oi You! Banksy goes on show in Nelson

Oi You! Banksy goes on show in Nelson

The thought provoking art of the elusive Banksy will go on show in Nelson this Spring at the Oi You! Exhibition ¬ timed to coincide with the Nelson Arts Festival and the Rugby World Cup.

Organiser George Shaw says Banksy is now the most talked about artist on the planet: ³His film Exit Through the Gift Shop gained a cult following and was nominated for an Oscar, his art is collected by the world¹s rich and famous - from Brad and Angelina down - and the UK press loves nothing like a good Banksy story. His Bristol show in 2009 was in the top 30 most visited shows in the world, over 300,000 people queued to get in, adding over 35 million dollars to the local economy.²

George and his wife Shannon have been collecting urban art for eight years and made a lifestyle move to Nelson from the UK in 2009, bringing along their 23 Banksy limited edition prints and originals that will make up the core of the Oi You! exhibition, plus work by other exponents of Urban Art including Faile, Antony Micallef, David Choe, Adam Neate and Os Gemeos - all of whom have had a major impact in the northern hemisphere but have not been exhibited Œdown under¹ before.

Alongside these will be the best of Kiwi urban art including work by Auckland¹s Cut Collective, and the top works from the nationwide Oi You! Urban Art Competition which was launched in February and has a schools¹ and an open section. This offers the opportunity to put artists of all ages alongside Banksy and world¹s best urban artists.

³Kids are right into urban art,² George says. ³We ran the first Oi You! competition last year just in Nelson and had some stunning works - from a Last Supper with ŒMaccers¹ on the table through to Ed Hilary on top of Everest ¬ with a snowboard. The kids completely get the subversive aspect of the subject matter and their art skills were outstanding.²

The 2011 Oi You! exhibition will be staged in the cavernous interior of an old gasworks that¹s part of Nelson¹s Founders Heritage Park. An easy walk from the city centre, the Energy Centre is a 650 sq metre 10-sided building with an industrial feel that ideally lends itself to a show of urban art.

George has gained funding from Nelson City Council as well as Toyota and Resene, all inspired by the opportunity for New Zealand artists to showcase their talents. He is currently seeking sponsorship for other aspects of the exhibition, which he is banking will attract thousands of visitors and plenty of international media attention to Nelson come the spring.

³Staging Oi You! will show the huge media contingent here for the rugby that New Zealand is about more than just rugby and scenery,² he said. ³It¹s also at the cutting edge of global pop culture.²

Oi You! is at the Energy Centre, Founders Heritage Park Nelson, September 23 - October 24 2011. Full details on the exhibition and the competition at www.StreetArt.co.nz >

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