Banksy’s “Haight Street Rat” Returns to SF
836M Gallery brings Banksy’s “Haight Street Rat” back to the city of its origins after it was almost lost due to anti-graffiti laws.
The owner of The Red Victorian, which had the mural on its wall painted during a 2010 SF spree by Banksy, was planning to paint over the Rat. But thanks to the group ‘Save the Banksy,’ “it was saved from the fate suffered by a number of other Banksys in the city that ended up being destroyed” and now makes it way back to San Francisco. Read more at SF Weekly.
The Haight Street Rat weighs in at 420 pounds and will be mounted in the window of the gallery. It may be viewed from the street, which 836M sees as being a key aspect of the exhibit, since it allows the piece to be exhibited in its natural habitat, the street, yet afforded the protection it deserves.
The official opening is set for January 21, after which it will be displayed in the window of 836M located at 836 Montgomery Street in San Francisco for 10 hours daily through July 11, 2015. The gallery will also be holding events and lectures surrounding Banksy and street art from February-May.
Banksy’s “Haight Street Rat” Comes Home
Exhibit opens January 21, 2015 through July 11, 2015
836M | 836 Montgomery St, San Francisco, CA
FREE to view from the street
About the Work
The Haight Street Rat features a rat sporting a Che Guevara beret while he draws a red line with a marker pen and was originally on the side of The Red Victorian, a three-story bed and breakfast in San Francisco’s Haight District.
On the adjacent building, the following text appeared in red: “THIS IS WHERE I DRAW THE LINE.” Allegedly, this alluded to a neighborhood clothing store with a reputation for taking street artists’ works and printing them on T-shirts and other apparel for sale without giving artists credit or sharing revenue.
The mural was saved when the building was repainted.
“I think Banksy is the Andy Warhol of our time,” say Brian Greif, who helped bring the work back to SF. “But unlike Warhol, whose work was often unabashedly commercial and is housed in private collections and museums all over the world, Banksy’s work needs to be preserved for the public. My goal is to exhibit the Haight Street Rat in a manner that generates discussion about the importance of Street Art.”
Photo credit: WarholianPhoto credit: Greg Goodman | Flickr
836M is a non-commercial gallery space in San Francisco dedicated to the notion that thought provoking ideas can entertain, energize and inspire.
Over the course of the six-month Banksy exhibition, 836M—which operates under the auspices of Next World Group, an international investment firm, along with its philanthropic arms, Amplifiers and Erol—will stage a series of talks and events in the gallery aimed at discussing Banksy and Street Art, with the first scheduled for February, followed by others in March and May.
