Banksy

Banksy is an English-based graffiti artist, political activist and film director whose real identity is unknown. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique. His works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world. Banksy's work grew out of the Bristol underground scene, which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. Observers have noted that his style is similar to Blek le Rat, who began to work with stencils in 1981 in Paris. Banksy says that he was inspired by "3D", a graffiti artist who later became a founding member of Massive Attack, an English musical group.

Banksy displays his art on publicly visible surfaces such as walls and self-built physical prop pieces. Banksy does not sell photographs or reproductions of his street graffiti, but art auctioneers have been known to attempt to sell his street art on location and leave the problem of its removal in the hands of the winning bidder. Banksy's first film, Exit Through the Gift Shop, billed as "the world's first street art disaster movie", made its debut at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. The film was released in the UK on 5 March 2010. In January 2011, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary for the film. In 2014, he was awarded Person of the Year at the 2014 Webby Awards.

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Exit Through the Gift Shop: A Banksy Film is a film by street artist Banksy that tells the story of Thierry Guetta, a French immigrant in Los Angeles, and his obsession with street art. The film charts Guetta's constant documenting of his every waking moment on film, from a chance encounter with his cousin, the artist Invader, to his introduction to a host of street artists with a focus on Shepard Fairey and Banksy, whose anonymity is preserved by obscuring his face and altering his voice, to Guetta's eventual fame as a street artist himself. The film premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival on 24 January 2010. It is narrated by Rhys Ifans. The music is by Geoff Barrow. It includes Richard Hawley's "Tonight The Streets Are Ours". The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

There has been debate over whether the documentary is genuine or a mockumentary, although Banksy answers "Yes" when asked if the film is real.

Synopsis

Gift shop

A gift shop or Souvenir gift shop is a store primarily selling souvenirs relating to a particular topic or theme. The items sold often include coffee mugs, stuffed animals, t-shirts, postcards, handmade collections and other souvenirs. Gift shops are normally found in areas visited by many tourists. Hotels and Motels in Canada and the United States often feature a gift shop near their entrance. Venues such as zoos, aquariums, national parks, and museums have their own gift shops; in some cases these shops sell items of higher value than gift shops not associated with a venue, as well as trinkets. These stores are sometimes a source of financial support for educational institutions.

Definition

A gift shop can be defined as a shop which has the primary purpose of selling items that will be given to others for no material gain.

Mainstream gift shop businesses

There are many ‘mainstream’ shop businesses that target gift-buyers as their primary customer base. These retailers can vary in size from small independent boutiques, to chain stores, to large department stores. Each will have different business strategies however will typically sell various product ranges that appeal to different customer groups, with gender, age, celebration or personal interest differentiation.