Art students offered chance to hang work beside Banksy

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by Brody Haussman

High school art students are being offered the opportunity to hang their work alongside Banksy, the British guru of Street Art, in a competition the organisers say will give young artists the motivation, professionalism and public exposure that Smokefreerockquest gives to music students.

The first Oi You! Urban Art Competition was held last year as part of the Nelson Arts Festival, and the response inspired organiser George Shaw to take it nationwide.

“The stunning works we got last year ranged from a Last Supper with ‘Maccas’ on the table through to Ed Hilary on top of Everest with a snowboard,” he says. “Kids completely get the subversive aspect of the subject matter and their art skills are outstanding.”

Registrations of individual students and whole classes are coming in for this year’s Oi You! Competition, which also has an open section for all artists, including tertiary students.

George’s enthusiasm for Urban Art takes him back to his own youth: “When I saw The Flower Thrower by Banksy it took me back to when I first heard the Clash singing Guns of Brixton. My wife Shannon and caught the Banksy bug, sold our cars and started buying his originals and limited edition prints.”

The Shaw’s made a lifestyle move to Nelson from the UK in 2009, bringing 23 Banksies with them, along with works by Faile, Antony Micallef, David Choe, Adam Neate and Os Gemeos. This collection will make up the core of the Oi You! Urban Art Exhibition, which will run from September 23 to October 24 as part of the Nelson Arts Festival, alongside the city’s two Rugby World Cup matches.

“I’m pretty excited about what we’ve got happening here,” George says. “Auckland’s Cut Collective are doing installations and the top 20 student works, plus the top 20 from the competition’s open section, will be on the walls alongside the world’s best - all on show at the Energy Centre, a huge 10 sided building with a fittingly grunge feel that makes it the perfect venue.”

George is confident the exhibition will draw the crowds and the huge media contingent here for the rugby.

“Banksy is now the most talked about artist on the planet. His film Exit Through the Gift Shop gained a cult following and has been nominated for an Oscar, his art is collected by the world’s rich and famous - from Brad and Angelina down, and the UK press loves nothing like a good Banksy story. His Bristol show in 2009 was in the top 30 most visited shows in the world, over 300,000 people queued to get in, adding over 35 million dollars to the local economy.”

George says Oi You! will show the world that New Zealand is about more than rugby and scenery: “It’s also going to be at the cutting edge of global pop culture and it really excites me to that young people can be part of this.”

Information packs are out now in schools and universities. Registration and entry forms for the student and open sections, plus key competition dates and details are at www.StreetArt.co.nz

ENDS

Oi You! Fact File

When:
Competition entries need to be in by 16 May 2011
Exhibition dates - September 23 to October 24th 2011

What:
The exhibition’s three major components are:
Over 70 works by the world’s most famous Urban Artists
The 40 finalists (20 from both the youth and open sections) of the Oi You! Art Competition
The best of New Zealand Urban Art featuring The Cut Collective.

Where:
The Energy Centre, Nelson. The middle of this building is a pentagon with five huge, eight metre high vintage steel posts. At the very centre is a hook on a pulley capable of supporting a four ton weight. Using partitions, we plan to subdivide the building into four areas: A large central plaza leading to the three exhibition areas each home to one of the major components listed above.

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