Banksy’s Dismaland may be long gone, but it’s certainly not forgotten.
A street art boom is sweeping the southwest English town of Weston-super-Mare, where the elusive British artist opened a pop-up “bemusement park” in a derelict swimming pool complex on August 21 last year.
Dozens of pieces have appeared on buildings across the town since the five-week-long exhibition ended last September ― and officials are now using the burgeoning scene as a hook to attract tourists.
“It’s grown so much since Dismaland,’” said 39-year-old artist JPS, who is behind many of the new stencils. JPS is now the sole subject of his hometown’s new officially endorsed street art trail, detailed below:
“There were very few pieces before,” he told The Huffington Post. “But now there are works by different artists all over.”
With more people coming from outside the area to paint in the town, JPS’s 17-year-old protégé Fawn said she shared in her mentor’s optimistic assessment.
John D’oh, from Banksy’s nearby home city of Bristol, said the show had spurred a number of artists to paint. “It’s generated a new wave of Banksy wannabes,” he told HuffPost.
Here are just some of the pieces that have emerged across Weston-super-Mare since the show shut down 11 months ago:
