Banksy is Here in Philly — Press Preview

If you have spent any time on the internet, you probably have heard the name Banksy. You may have even come across some of his art and not even known it was his. Banksy has become a prolific artist comparable to other icons like Basquiat, Andy Warhol, and Peter Blake.  His art combines graffiti and pop art to expose the ugly truth of our idols and illuminates the beauty of our everyday struggles.

Banksy Was Here: The Exhibition by Fever features his works in an immersive, moving, and innovative way.  The Exhibition is a celebration of the master of the streets with genuine and certified artworks from private collections. This highly successful event has already toured 15 cities.

The experience plunges you into the universe of the famous and enigmatic Bristol-born street artist, offering you an incredible journey featuring a selection of genuine and certified artworks. Enjoy a rich selection of works lent from private collectors around the world, plus a unique virtual reality experience guiding you through the artist’s career.

Banksy Was Here: The Exhibition has several galleries dedicated to different eras of the artist’s work. To enter the exhibit you walk through an underground subway, the birthplace of some of his most famous works. From the train, you enter a room surrounded by screens with subway benches in the center. The screens transform the room into a subway, a war-torn battlefield, an elevator, and even Dismaland. This room allows guests to feel the kinetic energy of Banksy’s work; while in the elevator you feel like the room is moving!

This exhibit also includes other interactive activities like a stencil room where you can use chalk to stencil some of Banksy’s most notable works on a chalkboard wall. There is also a room that is wall to wall whiteboards where you can tag the walls with your own art.

The exhibit features a  virtual reality experience through the artist’s career, created especially for this event. The VR experience is roughly 10 minutes and combines real-world images, Bankys’ art, and a soundtrack that rivals those from big-budget films.  The VR experience left me and many other members of the media covered in goosebumps.

Guests can also enjoy an interactive room with a piano, Dismaland – that showcases a film about the bemusement park, and a political room that plays disco music.

Once you have explored all the exhibit has to offer, including many great photo-ops, you can purchase exclusive merchandise in the gift shop!

Bansky Was Here: The Exhibition is currently open for guests and will be in Philly until January 30, 2023.

Opening hours:
– Mondays, Thursdays & Sundays: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
– Fridays & Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
– December 24 & 31: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
– January 1: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.

📍 Location: 901 Market Street Suite 1150, Philadelphia PA 19107
👤 Age requirement: all ages are welcome! Free entry for children ages 3 & under.

You can purchase your tickets on Fever’s official website. 

Want to learn about more Fever Original Events? Read some of our other reviews about events all over the United States.


About Yali Perez

When she's not writing about pop culture for Fandom Spotlite, curating social media for the*gameHERS, or helping to produce the DB4L podcast, she is a single mom to the coolest kid in the world. In Yali's free time she likes to bake, exercise, watch horror films, and play Mario Kart. Yali's goal as a writer is to share her nontraditional and colorful view of the world with readers everywhere.

View all posts by Yali Perez

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