Dismaland was a temporary art project organised by street artistBanksy in the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, England. Prepared in secret, the pop-up exhibition at the Tropicana, a disused lido, was "a sinister twist on Disneyland" that opened during the weekend of 21 August 2015 and closed on 27 September 2015, 36 days later. Banksy described it as a "family theme park unsuitable for children." The aesthetic of the "bemusement park" was potentially inspired by the "Dismayland" series of paintings created by American artist Jeff Gillette, who also participated in the exhibition. Banksy created ten new works and funded the construction of the exhibition himself. The show featured 58 artists of the 60 Banksy originally invited to participate. 4,000 tickets were available for purchase per day, priced at £3 each.
Development
Local residents of Weston-super-Mare were told that a Hollywood company called Atlas Entertainment was using the location to film a crime thriller called Grey Fox. Signs proclaiming "Grey Fox Productions" were posted around entrances to the site. Pictures of its construction began surfacing online in early August 2015, and included a "fairy castle and massive sculptures". Holly Cushing, whose name appeared in the credits of a documentary about Banksy and who is often reported to be his manager, was sighted at the construction site before the opening, which contributed to the decline of its status as "secret".
Works
Among the structures photographed prior to the opening were a large pinwheel by Banksy, Horse Scaffolding Sculpture by Ben Long, and a twisted truck sculpture, Big Rig Jig by artist Mike Ross which was previously shown at Burning Man in 2007. Works by 58 artists, including Jenny Holzer, Damien Hirst, Jeff Gillette, Jimmy Cauty and Bill Barminski were featured in the park. Banksy said he contacted the "best artists I could imagine" to exhibit, with two artists turning him down. Art Historian Dr Gavin Grindon from the University of Essex curated Dismaland's political exhibits, including a bus housing a collection of dangerous and violent objects under the banner of 'Cruel Designs'. For one exhibit, the books of Jeffrey Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare, a British criminal, novelist and former politician, were burned each day in a fire pit. Every one of the estimated 150,000 visitors to the park entered through a fake cardboard security check point created by artist Bill Barminski. On Fridays there were scheduled performances by musicians including Run the Jewels, De La Soul, Damon Albarn, and Pussy Riot. Banksy's coin operated Dream Boat, created for Dismaland, was donated by the artist to Help Refugees in the run-up to Christmas 2018 to help raise money for the charity. The artwork was displayed in Help Refugees' London pop-up shop and members of the public could pay £2.00 to enter a competition to guess the weight of the piece. The person whose guess was closest to the actual weight would win Dream Boat. The 'guess-the-weight' competition was seen as 'deliberately school fair' in style.
– Source: A contributor Alzaqzouq later covered up his work with bed sheets in protest of the presence of Israeli artists. He was banned from the park but his covered work remained in Dismaland. Banksy later resolved the issue and the work was uncovered again.
Reception
High demand for tickets to the exhibition caused the Dismaland website to crash repeatedly. Some wondered whether or not this was deliberately contrived by Banksy as part of the irony of the Dismaland experience. Many celebrities were attracted to the venue, some international, such as Brad Pitt, Jack Black, Neil Patrick Harris, Nicholas Hoult, Wayne Coyne, Russell Brand, Ant & Dec, Mark Ronson, Darren Criss, Daddy G, CGP Grey and Brady Haran. The exhibit had a mixed reception from critics. Jonathan Jones in the Guardian found it depressing: "brings together a lot of bad art by the seaside." Dan Brooks in The New York Times was critical of the easy sarcasm. The exhibition proved to be popular with visitors, with many prepared to queue for hours each day for one of the 500 daily walk-in tickets. It brought in 150,000 visitors from around the world, boosting the local economy of Weston-super-Mare by £20m. In May 2016, it was announced that Dismaland had been shortlisted for the South Bank Sky Arts Award.
