Massive Attack are auctioning off two extremely rare Banksy prints from their personal collection in order to raise money for charity.
The Bristol electronic dance collective are letting go of the Banksy works I Fought The Law and Bomb Middle England, both of which combined are estimated to fetch in the region of £100,000 in today’s (October 29) auction.
Donated by Grant “Daddy G” Marshall, the money raised will go to charities Temwa and Aid Box Community (ABC), which help vulnerable people in Bristol and Malawi.
“When we heard about the government funding Temwa lost earlier this year with the UK aid cuts, and the importance of the work Temwa does in Malawi, we felt compelled to help,” Marshall said in a statement about the auction listings.
Hosted by charity auction house Vanguard, the pieces are available to bid on now at The Saleroom and will end at 7.30pm BST.
Marshall added that “selling the Banksy prints via the Vanguard charity auction seemed an easy way to help raise some urgent funds needed”.
Tomorrow at 19:30 BST, @BristolAuctions will be holding a Contemporary Charity Art Auction which is hosted by Vanguard In Aid Of Temwa & Aid Box Community.
Browse the full sale here https://t.co/nbCo2xpGkG & discover art like lot 63 – Mr Jago (British, b.1972) Headhunter, 2020. pic.twitter.com/ViXGNN6bb5
— the saleroom (@thesaleroom) October 28, 2021
Malawi charity Temwa lost out on a £250,000 grant earlier this year after the UK government cut funding, leaving them in desperate need of funding to continue their life-saving work. That includes supplying the East African country with food, educational and health security as well as aiding in forest protection.
Temwa’s director, Jo Hook, said the funds raised from the auction will go “directly towards purchasing large numbers of fruit trees and agro-forestry trees”.
It has long been rumoured that Massive Attack frontman Robert Del Naja could in fact be Banksy. He’s denied the speculation on numerous occasions, saying that “it would be a good story but sadly not true. Wishful thinking, I think”.
Meanwhile, Massive Attack recently cancelled a gig in Liverpool over the venue’s decision to host an arms fair.
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