Opening on July 31 and running through August 30, The Art of Banksy invites Tampa audiences to step directly into a world shaped by one of the most influential artists of our time and to leave with a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the work, the myth, and the man.
The Art of Banksy arrives at the Straz Center with more than 160 authenticated works, forming the largest privately owned Banksy collection in the world. Valued at over £20 million, the exhibition marks a milestone for Tampa and a creative first for the global tour. As curator and GTP Entertainment CEO/Executive Producer Michel Boersma explained, this installation is unlike anything the team has attempted in the exhibition’s decade‑long history.
“This is the 10th anniversary of touring The Art of Banksy,” he said. “For the first time in 10 years, we’re building this exhibition on stage.”
Visitors will enter through the Straz Center’s loading bay and step directly onto a transformed stage. “They’re basically going to come on stage through how the actors normally come on stage,” he explained, “and they’re not going to recognize it because there’s over 200 meters of wall and a labyrinth going through.”
The exhibition features Banksy’s most recognizable works, including Girl with Balloon and Rude Copper, alongside lesser‑known pieces that broaden the public’s understanding of the artist’s range. Boersma sees this mix as essential. “Banksy is a great gateway drug into the arts for young and old,” he said. “It's art which you don't have to stand there for 10 minutes and look very wise and then still don't know what it means. There's an immediacy to his imagery and there's humor. People enter our exhibition with their own image of who Banksy is, and I think ultimately… we give their version of Banksy more layers.”
Tampa audiences will also encounter two global exclusives. The first is the original Flower Thrower, created in 1997 as a Valentine’s Day gift for Banksy’s then‑girlfriend, Leonie Laws. Her filmed testimonial will be part of the exhibition. Boersma described the discovery of the piece as a moment that reshaped long‑held assumptions. “The art world didn’t know this thing existed,” he said. “Most people lean towards the Middle East. And there's someone with a PLO kind of look, throwing a flower bunch. And then when we started digging and talking to Leonie, it turned out to be completely not that. The image is staged. And it wasn't staged for Banksy; it was staged for an anarchy magazine.”
The second exclusive is Banksy’s Mona Lisa, a signed, previously unseen work originally purchased directly from the artist by Brad Pitt. After returning to Banksy in 2022, the piece was transformed into the version now on display. “It’s such a striking work. One of the things we're going to do in Tampa for the first time is we're going to make a little cross on the floor, which is the best spot to go and see it because if you see it at an angle on the right, then it's perfect,” he said. “I would love for people to just spend a little bit of time with her, because it's amazing."
Unlike other works, there’s no description with Mona Lisa, as Boersma wants the audience to simply enjoy the art without having to be distracted by reading anything about it.
"It’s the last piece you’ll see in the exhibition before you leave. I just wanted it to breathe on its own - just let that work be.”
Though Boersma serves as curator, he approaches the exhibition with a theatre producer’s sensibility shaped by years of collaboration with collectors, former partners of Banksy, and individuals connected to pivotal moments in the artist’s career. He shared stories of collectors driving across countries to secure missing pieces, early birthday cards showing Banksy’s evolution from his real name to the moniker he uses today, and rare artifacts from the anti‑Iraq War demonstrations. “We’ve been able to grow it, and we’ve been able to make a collection which has depth and puts you on a journey getting to know the artist,” he said.
Boersma also hopes the exhibition helps audiences understand Banksy more fully. “Most of the works on display have been made by Banksy to be sold to collectors,” he explained. “That funds his lifestyle, and the stunts he’s doing, but there’s a business behind Banksy.”
Despite the scale and security demands of the collection, Boersma says the payoff is in the audience’s reaction. “People walk out with a smile,” he said. “The main thing I hear is: ‘I didn’t know…’ and then fill in the blank. We show so much.”
The Art of Banksy is July 31- August 30 at the Straz Center. Learn more and purchase tickets at strazcenter.org/events/2526-season/immersive/the-art-of-banksy.
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