Banksy murals in Glasgow nightclub to be restored

Iconic murals by the artist Banksy have been found in the Glasgow nightclub the Arches. The three murals are set to be restored 11 years after they were thought to be lost forever.

As part of a visit to Glasgow in early 2001, Banksy’s ‘Peace is Tough’ exhibition saw the artist leave the three works inside the famous nightclub venue.

The pieces depict a framed picture of a monkey wearing a tutu pointing a gun at another framed picture of the Mona Lisa. Between the two frames are scrawled the words ‘Every time I hear the word culture, I release the safety on my 9mm’ in red graffiti paint.

Argyle Street Arches (ASA) is now set to undertake a five-month long project to restore the famous murals at the Arches venue in the city centre, in partnership with London-based Fine Art Restoration Co. (FARCO).

The nightclub had said they feared the murals would never be restored after they were accidentally covered with grey emulsion paint, and administrators had voiced that financial restraints wouldn’t cover the cost.

But now ASA and FARCO are now working together to save these important artworks for Scotland. The restoration is to be completed a section at a time with the monkey being the first artwork to be restored.

Chris Bull, Technical Director at FARCO, said: “We’re bringing three hidden Banksy pieces back to life, and in order to do this we need donations to be able to restore the artworks. For each donation, each donor will receive an exclusive gift. And the more you donate, the bigger the gift”.

The project is due to start on Saturday 11 August from 1pm at Argyle Street Arches, with live videos documenting the progress on Facebook and www.banksy.scot so the public can be part of the restoration.

You can support this project and donate by visiting the fundraising page on IndieGoGo or the gift shop at www.banksy.scot.

Words by Kyle Reid

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