Exhibitions
Banksy's preparatory drawing: graffitiing the world
The Carisbo Foundation and Opera Laboratori present the exhibition Banksy Archive 01 - The School of Bristol 1983-2005 , on view until August 2, 2026, as part of the Genus Bononiae cultural project. The exhibition offers an in-depth reconstruction of the origins and development of Banksy's imagery, situating it within the cultural and artistic context in which it was formed and the conditions that made its emergence possible.
The exhibition is organized into thirty-two sections and is structured as an open archive that traces a network of shared influences, practices, and languages. It highlights the role of the so-called “School of Bristol,” understood as a core group of artists and agents of the local scene—including Robert Del Naja, Tom “Inkie” Bingle, Felix “Flx” Braun, Kyron “Soker” Thomas, and Nick Walker—who helped define a creative environment marked by experimentation and the hybridization of artistic languages.
Curated by Stefano Antonelli and Gianluca Marziani, the exhibition brings together more than three hundred works, original documents, and archival materials. The various sections are dedicated to artists and cultural figures who shared formative experiences with Banksy in 1990s Bristol, shaping a constantly evolving landscape where graffiti, music, underground culture, and diverse forms of visual resistance converge.
The exhibition not only traces the origins of a visual language, but also highlights its critical power and its capacity as a tool for denunciation outside of academic circles. In this sense, it reminds us that the image is not merely representation, but also a way of positioning oneself in relation to the world.
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