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Banksy show extended to evening visits
24 Jul 2009A museum is opening at night to accommodate the thousands of visitors desperate to see graffiti artist Banksy's take-over exhibition.
Almost 200,000 people have queued for up to three hours to see the Banksy vs Bristol Museum exhibition at Bristol's City Museum and Art Gallery.
Seven weeks after the event opened, queues still stretch daily to a mile outside the museum in Clifton.
Now the museum has agreed to open into the evening once a week to accommodate the thousands of people who want to see the Bristol-born artist's take on modern life.
Bristol City Council has arranged for openings up until 8pm on Wednesdays, starting on August 5 until it closes on August 31.
The record-breaking visitor numbers resulted in extra staff being taken on to help with front of house and in the galleries.
The Banksy vs Bristol Museum free exhibition features over 100 works by Banksy, from animatronics to street graffiti and canvas paintings.
Councillor Simon Cook, Bristol's executive member for culture, sport and capital projects, said: "We have introduced late night opening on Wednesdays in a bid to meet the huge demand.
"Naturally we are delighted with the thousands of visitors, but with waiting times at weekends of up to two to three hours we thought a late night opening would appeal especially to local people who work during the daytime.
"The Banksy vs Bristol Museum has surpassed all expectations and it's absolutely brilliant to see so many people visiting our museum and galleries and enjoying a unique insight into the subtle humour and clever subversiveness of Banksy."
Reader views (1)
I wonder, how long will it be before "Banksy" has his David Niven moment? That's the one when a gentle tap on the shoulder is followed by a soft (yet firm) voice which tells him in no uncertain terms that: "The game is up, old son.".
- Ted, London, 24/07/2009 14:17
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