Port Talbot Banksy to go on public display for first time on anniversary

The first anniversary of Banksy's Port Talbot installation will be celebrated with the first public viewing of the art work in its new location.

On December 18th 2018, a piece of spray-painted artwork appeared on the side of a garage in the town. It was confirmed the next day as a genuine Banksy, called 'Seasons Greetings".

It was then sold for a six figure sum by the garage owner and steelworker, Ian Lewis to the art dealer John Brandler.

For three days this week, on December 18th, 19th and 20th, Season’s Greetings will be open to the public at the Ty’r Orsaf building in Port Talbot’s town centre.

There will also be a street art educational workshop at Ysgol Cwm Brombil.

At the time of sale, new owner Mr Brandler said the artwork encapsulates "everything Banksy is about".

When the Banksy was discovered last year, word quickly spread, attracting huge numbers of visitors wanting to see and take photographs of the new art work and global media outlets flocked to Port Talbot forcing Neath Port Talbot Council to take unprecedented traffic management measures in Taibach.

The sale agreement included a guarantee that the work would stay in Port Talbot for three years.

Amid rising security costs and concerns for the future of Season’s Greetings, the Welsh Government funded its delicate transfer to Ty’r Orsaf, the move designed to “preserve and protect” the important example of urban art.

Neath Port Talbot Council has been working with the Welsh Government to develop its vision for contemporary art provision across Wales.