Banksy art exhibition cancelled over theft fears

An arts centre in Norfolk has cancelled an exhibition featuring guerrilla artist Banksy after 10 of his works were stolen from a Brighton gallery.

Norwich Arts Centre was scheduled to run the exhibition "Buy Now, Spray Later" from Monday.

But the owners of the Banksy works and the Arts Centre felt that the risk of theft was too great.



Thieves stole Banksy works valued at almost £10,000, during two raids at Artrepublic in Brighton in May.

The thieves stole two copies each of Banksy's Gangsta Rat, Welcome to Hell, and Virgin Mary. The other prints stolen were Morons, Jack & Jill, and Napalm.

Stuart Hobday, director of the Norwich Arts Centre, says: "It's a real shame that this exhibition is not going ahead, but the risk of the art being stolen was fairly high and we understand the concern raised by the owner of the works."