Pranks

The pranks have been an essential part of Banksy’s overall narrative. There are at least 15 good ones, four of them in one single day, at different museums in New York:

  • 17 September 2003, London. Banksy entered Tate Britain disguised as a pensioner, where he stuck one of his own creations in a vacant slot on one of the gallery’s walls.
  • 7 April 2004, London. Banksy entered the Natural History Museum disguised as an employee, carrying a taxidermic rat in a glass-fronted box, which he mounted on a wall in one of the main halls.
  • August 2004, London. Banksy dropped 100,000 fake 10-pound notes (the DI-faced tenners) at the Notting Hill Carnival and a few weeks later at the Reading Festival north of London.
  • October 2004, Paris. Banksy hung his version of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre.
  • 13 March 2005, New York. Banksy hung his work in four New York museums: MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the American Museum of Natural History.
  • May 2005, London. Banksy installed his “Peckham Rock” sculpture in the British Museum.
  • 4 September 2006, London. Banksy doctored 500 copies of Paris Hilton’s debut CD, which he placed in 48 different record shops in the London area.
  • 8 September 2006, Los Angeles. Banksy placed an inflatable doll dressed as a Guantanamo Bay detainee on the premises of Disneyland.
  • 27 June 2010, Glastonbury Festival (40 km south of Bristol). A member of Team Banksy received Prince Charles with a “Drugs for Sale” placard and shouted, “Charlie, Charlie, have a taster.”
  • 2 November 2017, Bethlehem. Banksy commemorated the 100 years since the Balfour Declaration with a ceremony outside the Walled Off Hotel with a fake Queen Elizabeth II as the protagonist.
  • 5 October 2018, London. Shredding at Sotheby’s.
  • 22 May 2019, Venice, Italy Banksy mounted a portable stand during the Venice Bienalle, selling a multi-framed piece depicting a giant cruise ship. After a few hours, it appears that the Italian police evicted him.

17 Sept 2003, London.

Banksy entered Tate Britain disguised as a pensioner, where he stuck one of his own creations in a vacant slot on one of the gallery’s walls:

Finding the slot
Hanging his work
Mission accomplished

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7 April 2004, London. Natural History Museum.

Banksy entered the Natural History Museum, disguised as an employee, carrying a taxidermic rat in a glass-fronted box, which he mounted on a wall in one of the main halls:

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August 2004. The DI-faced tenners.

Banksy dropped 100,000 false 10 pound notes at Notting Hill Carnival and a few weeks later at Reading Festival:

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October 2004, Paris.

Banksy hung his version of Mona Lisa in the Louvre:

Banksy at work
Mona Lisa with a smiley

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13 March 2005, New York.

Banksy hung his work in four New York museums: MoMA, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum and American Museum of Natural History. This is how these four pranks appeared on http://www.banksy.co.uk:

On 24 March 2005, Banksy did a remarkable interview on the New York pranks on a National Public Radio show called All Things Considered. You can listen to it here:

Source: https://www.npr.org/2005/03/24/4559961/hang-and-run-artist-strikes-nyc-museums

Here is same NPR interview from 24 March 2005 accompanied by footage of the pranks:

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May 2005, London.

Banksy installed his “Peckham Rock” sculpture in the British Museum:

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4 Sept 2006, London.

Banksy doctored 500 copies of Paris Hiltons debut CD, which he placed in 48 different record shops in the  London area:

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8 Sept 2006, Los Angeles.

Banksy placed an inflatable doll dressed as a Guantanamo Bay detainee on the premises of Disneyland:

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27 June 2010, Glastonbury Festival (40 km south of Bristol).

A member of Team Banksy received Prince Charles with a “Drugs  for Sale” placard and shouted “Charlie, Charlie, have a taster”:

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2 Nov 2017, Bethlehem.

Banksy commemorates the 100 years since the Balfour declaration with a ceremony outside the Walled Off Hotel with a fake Queen Elizabeth II as the protagonist:

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5 Oct 2018, London. Shredding at Sotheby’s:

The day after Banksy posted the The Director’s half cut with some extra details:

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22 May 2019, Venice, Italy .

Banksy mounted a portable stand during the Venice Bienalle selling a multi framed piece depicting a giant cruise-ship. He is evicted by the Italian police after a few hours, it seems: