Lowestoft Banksy artwork has 'created debate', curator says

BBC/Jamie Niblock Dan Clarke stood in front of the Sandcastle Girl street artworkBBC/Jamie Niblock
Curator Dan Clarke said he had been told Banksy would like the artwork to "remain" where it was created

A Banksy has been the "most discussed piece" of art a curator has had in "nearly a decade".

The piece, sometimes called "Sandcastle Girl", is going on display in Bury St Edmunds in Moyse's Hall Museum's Mutiny in Colour exhibition.

It appeared on the side of an old shop in Lowestoft in August 2021, and was removed to be sold in November 2021.

Curator Dan Clarke said while he was "against" street art removal it was a "win" to have it back in Suffolk.

The exhibition, which move to both Newmarket and Haverhill, is open from 3 June to 1 October and will feature other works by Banksy.

Mr Clarke said the museum wanted to "expand" and give people a "bit of hope, a bit of colour over the summer".

Andrew Turner/BBC Sandcastle Girl street artwork on Lowestoft streetAndrew Turner/BBC
The piece was removed in November 2021 to be auctioned off

"Sandcastle Girl", which was part of Banksy's "spraycation", originally depicted a child holding a crowbar next to a fallen sandcastle and lifted paving slab.

It appeared in Lowestoft's London Road in 2021 and was one of 10 pieces created in Norfolk and Suffolk in what he called his "Great British Staycation" series.

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