There is graffiti in almost every city in the world. Read this article to learn more about Britain's most famous graffiti artist.
Where do you expect to see graffiti? Probably not in a museum. Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, in the south-west of England, was the kind of place you went to see classical statues and stuffed animals in cases until the arrival of the "Banksy versus the Bristol Museum" exhibition in 2009. The exhibition hosted more than 100 works by Banksy, one of the world's most famous graffiti artists. Banksy is a man of mystery. He hardly ever gives interviews and likes to be anonymous. Nobody knows much about his life or his background.
Banksy's controversial "street art" includes spray paintings on live sheep and cows and graffiti on the huge wall erected to divide Israel and Palestine. After the Bristol exhibition, Banksy made a film called Exit Through the Gift Shop. The film tells the story of a French street artist in America. It received many positive reviews.
Bristol isn't the only place in Britain to welcome graffiti. The DPM Park in Dundee, Scotland has the longest legal graffiti wall (almost 110m long) in the UK. Anyone can paint on the council-owned wall any time they like. Mike Crilley, the graffiti wall project organiser, promotes the positive side of graffiti and runs workshops for local children.
Is everyone doing graffiti? Can we do graffiti where we want these days? Not exactly. It's illegal to paint on somebody else's property so make sure you find a legal graffiti wall like the one in Dundee if you want to have a go.
Activity 1 - Vocabulary
Match the vocabulary with the correct definition and write a - f next to the numbers 1 - 6.
1...... legal a. painting or writing on a wall in a public place
2...... graffiti b. the act of breaking or damaging something
3...... vandalism c. rarely; not often
4...... controversial d. nameless; unknown
5...... anonymous e. (about a topic) causing a lot of discussion, debate and argument
6...... hardly ever f. something that you are allowed to do, according to the laws of a country
Answers 1. f; 2. a; 3. b; 4. e; 5. d; 6. c
To find more English language activities visit www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglishteens
(c)British Council 2018
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