Banksy is to be made an honorary professor of a university in the UK next month, it has been announced. The Bristol-born street artist has been recognised by the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) - which has sites in Canterbury, Epsom and Rochester - in recognition of his "humanitarian efforts and the impact he has had on the global arts scene".
The university has said the anonymous graffiti artist will not be attending the ceremony and the honour is set to be conferred upon an empty chair. The institution lauded Banksy for his distinctive style that highlights other artists and humanitarian causes.
Professor Bashir Makhoul, UCA’s President and Vice-Chancellor, said: “Joining a long list of illustrious creatives who have received Honorary Awards from the University for the Creative Arts, Banksy is one of the UK’s best-known artists, famous throughout the world—an example that UCA students can look up to, who uses his talents to disrupt the status quo, while challenging us all to confront some of the key issues of our time: war and peace, inequality, and art’s role as a vehicle of social expression.”
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Banksy has donated a number of works to promote various causes such as Civilian Drone Strike, which was sold in 2017 at £205,000 to raise funds for Campaign Against Arms Trade and Reprieve. A sculpture titled Dream Boat, which was exhibited in Dismaland in 2015, was raffled off in 2018 in aid of the NGO Help Refugees (now known as Choose Love) for a minimum donation of £2 for every guess of its weight.
In lockdown, the artist painted the escaping prisoner on the side of the former Reading Prison, a site which has been disputed locally with many wanting to it be used as an arts hub. His works have dealt with various political and social themes, including anti-war, anti-consumerism and anti-fascism.
Banksy’s Honorary Professorship will be conferred during the University for the Creative Arts’ Graduation ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall in London on Wednesday 6 July.
Last weekend a Banksy mural was vandalised in a British seaside town - with penises and "Andrew was 'ere" sprayed alongside the artwork. The image of hermit crabs holding a sign reading "luxury rentals only" was created on a sea wall in Cromer, Norfolk, last summer.
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