Chapter 1
The Bristol roots and stencil revolution
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Chapter 2
Global stunts and museum invasions
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Chapter 3
Art as activism on global walls
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Chapter 4
The mystery of identity and market backlash
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YOUR GOAL
Master of Who is Banksy
Ch 1 · The Bristol roots and stencil revolution
andy Bristol Stencil Revolution
Cut the stencil, spray and run! (Yeah, yeah!) The Bristol revolution has begun! (Oh-oh!)
choko Track how Blek le Rat's 1981 Parisian rats sparked Banksy's Bristol stencil revolution.
andy Banksy adopted stenciling to paint much faster and avoid getting caught by the police.
BETA
andy Trace the hidden stencils to discover the powerful messages behind Banksy's anonymous art.
Fun Fact
Mild Mild West: Representing Banksy's early Bristol roots, this iconic stencil of a teddy bear throwing a bottle was painted over three days in broad daylight.
Glossary
drybreadz crew (noun)
A 1990s Bristol graffiti collective where a young, pre-fame Banksy practiced his freehand painting alongside other local street artists. Learning about this group helps us trace Banksy's artistic roots right before he sparked his famous stencil revolution.
A 1990s Bristol graffiti collective where a young, pre-fame Banksy practiced his freehand painting alongside other local street artists. Learning about this group helps us trace Banksy's artistic roots right before he sparked his famous stencil revolution.
Quiz
Which animal did Banksy adopt as a signature symbol, inspired by the French stencil artist Blek le Rat?
streetspirit Discover the meaning behind the teddy bear with a Molotov. View our infographic to explore this powerful symbol of stubborn local defiance.
Fun Fact
Banksy's stencil trick: Banksy claims he switched to stencils because painting freehand took too long and constantly got him arrested by the police.
Glossary
stencil (noun)
A template used to apply a design to a surface by spraying paint through cutouts. The artist adopted this method in Bristol during the late 1990s to paint quickly and evade police.
A template used to apply a design to a surface by spraying paint through cutouts. The artist adopted this method in Bristol during the late 1990s to paint quickly and evade police.
andy One of Banksy's earliest public murals was painted at a Bristol youth club to help keep it open.
Quiz
Which French street artist is widely credited with pioneering the stencil graffiti style that influenced Banksy?