160-Piece Banksy Exhibit Heading To Tampa This Summer

TAMPA, FL — Tickets to a traveling 160-piece Banksy exhibit at Morsani Hall at Tampa’s Straz Center go on sale Thursday at noon, according to the theater’s website.

The Art of Banksy, which opens Aug. 1 and runs for a limited time, only Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays that month, features works from the world’s largest authenticated collection of privately owned Banksy artwork.

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Items on display will include prints, canvases, screenprints, sculptures, unique works and limited-edition pieces, the Straz Center said.

The immersive display explores the artist’s history and the mystery of his identity as they take in his art.

The show includes several iconic pieces, such as “Girl and Balloon” and “Rude Copper,” in addition to lesser-known works.

As an exclusive, the exhibit also features the original “Flower Thrower,” which was made by Banksy for his then girlfriend, Leonie Laws, in 1997, alongside video testimonial from her, the theater said.

A signed, previously unseen work, “Mona Lisa,” originally purchased directly from Banksy by actor Brad Pitt, is also included in the show. After it was returned to the artist in 2022, he transformed the piece into something new and it’s now on display in the U.S. for the first time.

The Art of Banksy has toured the world with stops in Melbourne, Tel Aviv, Auckland, Toronto, Miami, Gothenburg, Sydney and London.