A mural painted by world-renowned street artist Banksy is to be removed from its home in Wales and taken to a secure location after attempts by “fanatics” to damage the artwork, its owner has said.
Season’s Greetings, which depicts a message about the impact of pollution on communities, appeared on the outside of a steelworker’s private garage in Taibach, Port Talbot, on December 19, 2018.
It was bought by art dealer John Brandler, who agreed to keep the piece in the south Welsh town for three years, and the Welsh government later paid to have it moved to an unoccupied shop in Ty’r Orsaf so it could be viewed by the public.
On Tuesday, it will be taken to a temporary storage centre, before being lent to a cultural institution that will put it on display to the public, while its long-term future is secured.
“Since Season’s Greetings appeared three years ago, fanatics have tried to destroy this amazing piece of art," Mr Brandler said.
“We’re moving it to preserve it for future generations, where it can be seen and enjoyed but not vandalised.”
The mock Christmas scene, created using stencils and spray paint, includes a dumpster fire next to a child with a sled who is trying to catch falling snow on their tongue.
The snow is actually black dust from the town’s steelworks, something that fell heavily in the summer of 2018.
Neath Port Talbot Council has said its attempts to keep the work in the town have failed and that if it stayed, the municipality would have to pay Mr Brandler £100,000 ($135,000) a year to borrow it from him.
In November 2021, council leader Ted Latham issued a statement to “set the record straight” regarding the impending departure of the Banksy mural.
Mr Latham said he was told the work would be moved to an exhibition in Peterborough.
“Discussions were held on future arrangements and the potential for the work to remain in Port Talbot," he said.
"But the council was informed that it would have to meet the costs of its removal and installation into a new venue, to continue to cover the insurance and to pay a fee in the region of £100,000 per year for the loan of the work.
“It has been estimated the cost of removal and relocation to another venue [even without insurance to cover the operation to move it] of Season’s Greetings would be around £50,000.”
Many have called it a “missed opportunity” to revitalise the town.
They include actor Michael Sheen, who grew up in Port Talbot and this month criticised the extraction of art from Wales into England.
The artwork will be removed in one piece after being encased in a specially designed protective shell made by design company the Egg Group.
The Banksy Preservation Society aims to raise funds through exclusive Banksy NFT Art drops to fund the preservation of Season’s Greetings and other works and ensure it will be on display to the public in the future.
