Banksy’s provocative and not-so-family-friendly amusement park art installation, Dismaland, confronted a variety of contemporary issues, like most Banksy artworks, when it opened in 2015. Among gender issues, distrust of police, and growing inequality, refugees and immigration were an important theme, and now Banksy is raffling one of Dismaland’s artworks to raise money for displaced people.
Banksy lays out the terms of the raffle in a Instagram post: “I’m raffling one of the boats from Dismaland in support of refugee support services. You can win it for £2 if you correctly guess how much it weighs.” Presumably, the chance to get your hands on the artwork at such a small price (two of the artist’s works recently went for £1.04 million and £561,000, respectively) will draw a fair amount of interest.
The artwork itself depicts a small boat packed tightly with refugees – lending a darker meaning to Banksy’s title for the post: “How heavy it weighs.” – and is on display at a pop-up Help Refugees shop on London’s Carnaby Street.
For anyone guessing, the dimensions and materials of the piece can be found on the website where the raffle is being held: www.choose.love. Choose Love is a store where shoppers can buy practical items like tents, nappies, and sleeping bags for refugees in need, offering a charitable alternative to the usual Christmas shopping.