Banksy’s Pre-Fame Life Teaching Kids, Major Museums Launch $12 M. Emergency Fund for LA Arts Community: Morning Links for January 16, 2025

To receive Morning Links in your inbox every weekday, sign up for our Breakfast with ARTnews newsletter. The Headlines BANKSY’S EARLY GRAFFITI ART CLASSES REVEALED. The ever-illusive Banksy, whose real identity remains a mystery, was not always so secretive, reveals the BBC. In fact, in the late 1990s, when Banksy was just beginning to gain attention, he taught graffiti art to teens at a youth club in a low-income neighborhood of Bristol. The artist, whose works have sold for millions, was only paid about £50 (about $61) to lead each class, but that didn’t seem to matter much. He painted the center’s walls alongside the children and regularly returned to work with them on new murals. What happened to those artistic collaborations? They were painted over many times. “I personally painted over a Banksy. I threw a Banksy stencil away when I was clearing up,” said Peter de Boer, who first hired Banksy to come teach workshops at the center in the Lawrence Weston neighborhood. He only agreed to speak to reporters and show them photos of the classes, if the artist’s identity was kept secret. Published images show Banksy’s face blurred out. “I have no regrets at all. Back...