Lowestoft Council plan to build on Banksy's legacy with more street art

Last month's appearance of murals created by the elusive street artist Bansky gained national and international attention, and have helped raise the profile of the region.

New projects are now being planned in Lowestoft that hope to capitalise on this attention and help bolster their collective bid to win City of Culture 2025.

One project aims to bring street artists together with local communities in order to create more street art around the town. These new graffiti pieces will help connect Bansky's artwork with a wider collection of street art across the town.

At the Lowestoft gallery, 303 Projects, there will be talks that look at the Banksy works of art and how they complement the existing art scene in the area.

The event is being organised by Lowestoft Heritage Action Zones, with funding through Heritage Open Days pilot project New Wave which encourages 18-34-year-olds to engage in Heritage Open Day events.It will be held on September 11-12.

Cllr Steve Gallant, Leader of East Suffolk Council, said:

“These artworks have created a real buzz around the local area, showcasing our wonderful part of the world. They continue to attract visitors from across the country and more importantly, they are being enjoyed by our communities.

"The key focus for our joint bid to become UK City of Culture 2025 is to offer and promote cultural activities which our communities can get involved with and whilst no decisions have yet been made, we would hope that these Banksy pieces will remain in place, if possible, for the benefit of our residents.”

With the artist’s work selling for seven-figure sums, the council have taken action to protect the murals, and have had to put up protective covers after some of the murals were defaced.

The Banksy artworks have already had an impact on property value in Lowestoft, and one empty town centre store has seen its value increase by £200,000.