Banksy’s Dismaland to be sent to Calais ‘Jungle’ to shelter migrants

All of the timber and fixtures from Banksy’s Dismaland – the street artist’s bemusement park in the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare – will be sent to refugees in Calais.

The post included an edited picture of what Dismaland Calais ought to look like, showing a refugee camp superimposed with the “fairytale” castle.

“Coming soon … Dismaland Calais”, Banksy wrote in a message on the exhibit’s Web site.

The park, which originally opened on August 22 in Weston-super-Mare, attracted over 150,000 visitors during its five-week run. A few had managed to get the online ticket for £3 beforehand but others were willing to queue for hours each day, come “dismal” rain or shine, for one of the 500 daily walk-in tickets.

There are an estimated 5,000 refugees camped in and around the French port of Calais, including people displaced from Syria, Libya and Eritrea. Somerset businesses estimate that it added as much as £20m to the seaside town’s local economy.

A woman walks past a mural by Banksy’s called “Donkey Documents”, which once adorned the wall of a private building in Bethlehem in the West Bank.

Dismaland, which described itself as “entry-level anarchism”, aims to parody the tourist and theme park industries.

“This is not a street art show”, Banksy said.

Banksy denied the project was a deliberate swipe at Disney, even though he used several characters made famous by the company, as well as the castle which appeared to copy its logo.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Banksy said his artwork was inspired by Christmas theme parks “where they stick a few antlers on an Alsation dog” and spray fake snowflakes. A concert at Dismaland on Friday night featured performances by US hip-hop group De La Soul, Russian feminist rock group Pussy Riot and Damon Albarn, the singer with the British alternative rock band Blur.

“It’s ambitious, but it’s also crap”. “I think it’s going to do fantastic things for Weston and Somerset”, said Turner.

Once the celebrations are over and Dismaland is dismantled – which will take around three weeks – there are still no definite plans about what will happen to the old Tropicana lido site.