Banksy is an anonymous English graffiti artist, political activist, and filmmaker known for his provocative and often illegal public artworks. His identity remains undisclosed, though speculation links him to Robin Gunningham.

What is Banksy's most famous artwork?

Some of Banksy's most notable works include *Girl with Balloon* (2002), *Love is in the Bin* (2018), and *Dismaland* (2015). The latter became a global phenomenon due to its satirical commentary on theme parks and consumer culture.

Has Banksy won any awards?

Yes, Banksy directed the film *Exit Through the Gift Shop* (2010), which was nominated for an Academy Award and won the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary.

What themes does Banksy explore in his work?

Banksy's work often critiques capitalism, surveillance, war, and social inequality. His art is characterized by dark humor, political satire, and subversive messages.

Is Banksy a political activist?

Yes, Banksy is widely regarded as a political activist who uses public art to challenge authority and provoke thought on social issues. His murals often appear in politically charged locations and address topics like immigration, war, and government surveillance.

*Dismaland* (2015) was a temporary art installation in Weston-super-Mare, England, conceived by Banksy as a dystopian parody of Disneyland. It featured works by various artists and critiqued consumerism and theme park culture.

What is the significance of "Love is in the Bin"?

*Love is in the Bin* (2018) gained international attention when it partially shredded itself moments after being auctioned at Sotheby’s. This act of self-destruction turned the piece into a statement on the commercialization of art.

Where can Banksy's art be found?

Banksy's art is primarily found in public spaces, especially in the UK, though pieces have appeared globally. Notable locations include London, Bristol, and Weston-super-Mare.

Banksy

English graffiti artist, political activist, and painter

Person Human Q133600

Banksy — MykReeve · Public Domain · Wikimedia

Facts

26 properties

Instance of: human
Sex or gender: male^[28]
Date of birth: 1973
Place of birth: Bristol
Country of citizenship: United Kingdom^[8]
Occupation: film director, painter, political activist, writer, sculptor, graffiti artist, activist shareholder, muralist, street art artist, artivist, serigrapher, artist^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]
Field of work: street art, Bristol underground scene, social commentary, graffiti^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]
Award received: Film Independent Spirit Awards^[27]
Notable work: One Nation Under CCTV, Slave Labour, Love is in the Bin, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Crude Oil (Vettriano), untitled^[21]^[22]^[23]^[24]^[25]^[26]
Genre: public art, social-artistic project, street art, graffiti, art of sculpture^[30]^[31]^[32]^[33]^[34]
Official website: banksy.co.uk^[39]
Work location: West End, New York City, Washington, D.C., Père Lachaise Cemetery, London, Naples, Venice, Occupied Palestinian territory, France^[40]^[41]^[42]^[43]^[44]^[45]^[46]^[47]^[48]
Languages spoken, written or signed: English
Artist files at: Smithsonian American Art and Portrait Gallery Library, College for Creative Studies-bibliotheek
Copyright representative: reproduction right not represented by CISAC member
Copyright status as a creator: works protected by copyrights
Described by source: Lentapedia, UbuWeb
Family name: Gunningham^[36]
Given name: Robin^[37]
Movement: contemporary art^[29]
Name in native language: Banksy
Native language: English^[9]
Owner of: Love is in the Bin
Pseudonym: Banksy^[38]

Show all 26 facts +2

Said to be the same as: Robert Del Naja^[35]
Social media followers: 95k (83k–95k, n=4)

🏷️ Also known as

en Banksy en Robin Gunningham ar بانكسي cs Robin Banks cs Robert Banks es David Jones es Robin Gunningham fa بنکسی he בנקסי ja バンクシー ko 뱅크시 ru Бэнкси th แบงก์ซี uk Бенксі zh 班克斯 zh-hant 班克西

🔖 Identifiers · 139

ISNI: 0000000120256343
VIAF cluster ID: 51384525
Library of Congress Authorities ID: no2003094902
GND ID: 131787225
ADAGP artist ID: banksy-612532
AbART person ID: 133791
Academy Awards Database nominee ID: 5688
AdoroCinema person ID: 422822
AllMovie person ID: p607868
AlloCiné person ID: 422822
ArtBrokerage artist ID: Banksy
Artcyclopedia artist ID: banksy

Show all 139 identifiers +127

Artists of the World ID: 42213379
Artland artist ID: banksy-83467f
Artnet artist ID: banksy
Artsy artist ID: banksy
BBC News topic ID: cp7r8vglgj1t
BBC Things ID: ab754e3e-10e7-4662-8805-4a2103870ef5
BIBSYS ID: 7027858
Babelio author ID: 107235
Basis Wien person ID: 65182
Benezit ID: B2297808
Bibliothèque nationale de France ID: 16534346k
Bridgeman artist ID: 50859
Brockhaus Enzyklopädie online ID: banksy
CANTIC ID: 981058615176206706
CNA topic ID: banksy
CONOR.BG ID: 36430181
CONOR.SI ID: 201823075
Canadiana Name Authority ID: ncf12132879
Capitolium Art artist ID: banksy-1975/xar-2118
Christie's creator ID: 54406
CiNii Research ID: 1140000791582538752
CineMagia person ID: 348387
Courrier international topic ID: banksy
Cyprus University of Technology ID: 105379
DACS ID (former): 001df822-9590-4cc3-94ca-00124efb9903
DBC author ID: 87097969375928
DDB person (GND) ID: 131787225
DMM director ID: 107214
Dagens Nyheter topic ID: banksy
Danish National Filmography person ID: 199405
Der Spiegel topic ID: banksy
Described at URL: arteforadomuseu.com.br, www.the-independent.com, www.theguardian.com
Discogs artist ID: 1117593
ELNET ID: a12480575
ElFilm person ID: 1591890
Elonet person ID: 1513232
Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID: biography/Banksy
Encyclopædia Universalis ID: banksy
Europeana entity: agent/base/63951
Evene ID: banksy-54319
FAST ID: 1583706
Fandango person ID: 33587
Film.ru person ID: banksy
FilmPolski ID: 77083
France 24 topic ID (French): banksy
Freebase ID: /m/023b7b
GTAA ID: 225793
Golden ID (archived): Banksy-A9K9E
Google Arts & Culture entity ID: m023b7b
Google News topics ID: CAAqIggKIhxDQkFTRHdvSkwyMHZNREl6WWpkaUVnSjFheWdBUAE
Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana ID: banksy
Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana ID (former scheme): 0517000
Grove Art Online ID: T2093873
HAND ID: 3FF7-93BE-D52E-D0CE-F9DE
Hoopla artist ID: 1063747074
IMDb ID: nm2612991
IdRef ID: 120807319
Instagram username: banksy
Invaluable.com person ID: mjv4q5ewr9
Ivi person ID: benksi
J9U entity ID: 987007430090805171
KMDb person ID: 00157751
Kinobox person ID: 967600
Kinopoisk person ID: 1960012
Know Your Meme slug: banksy
LdiF person ID: 243287
Le Delarge artist ID: 7584_artiste_BANKSY_
Lex ID: Banksy
LittleSis people ID: 214192
MovieMeter person ID: 131617
Munzinger person ID: 00000028860
MusicBrainz artist ID: dacf0119-dd09-4f80-b693-c0e5bb3d2a43
MutualArt artist ID: 993F064E6ED15A35
NACSIS-CAT author ID: DA15527455
NDL Authority ID: 01234386
NE.se ID: banksy
NL CR AUT ID: osa2011635937
NLP ID: a0000002753162
NME artist ID: banksy
NNDB people ID: 253/000220590
NUKAT ID: n2008036842
National Film Board of Canada director ID: banksy
National Library of Brazil ID: 000985525
National Library of Greece ID: 259423
National Library of Korea ID: KAC200900781
National Library of Latvia ID: 000204454
National Library of Lithuania ID: LNB:C1xC;=BV
National Library of Poland MMS ID: 9810555027805606
National Library of Spain SpMaBN ID: XX5074094
National Portrait Gallery (London) person ID: mp90772
Nationale Thesaurus voor Auteursnamen ID: 296414581
Omni topic ID: d80459bd-76d7-479c-a7c6-9399e181e463
Open Library ID: OL2987207A
OpenMLOL author ID: 123975
PORT person ID: 333722
Personality Database profile ID: 47589
Pontifical University of Salamanca ID: 1191471
Quora topic ID: Banksy-artist
RILM ID: 150138
RKDartists ID: 276847
Radio France person ID: banksy
Rijksmuseum Research Library authority ID: 172678
SBN author ID: MODV535921
SNAC ARK ID: w64471b0
SVKKL authority ID: 0414580-Banksy-1974
Scope.dk person ID: 55228
Sky News topic ID: 6834
Subreddit: Banksy
Swedish Film Database person ID: 420844
Süddeutsche Zeitung topic ID: Banksy
TMDB person ID: 131617
Tabakalera ID: 51278
The Guardian topic ID: artanddesign/banksy
Topic's main category: Category:Banksy
Treccani ID: banksy
Treccani's Lessico del XXI Secolo ID: banksy
Union List of Artist Names ID: 500126137
V&A person ID: A15051
Vikidia article ID: fr:Banksy
WikiArt ID: banksy
WikiKids ID: Banksy
Wikisimpsons article ID: 28091
Yale LUX ID: person/67bea1f2-d30c-4b97-8009-046cd1bcd090
Yle topic ID: 18-134827
YouTube channel ID: UCxbCoGJrG1TYaQ36fP7Huuw
Zhihu topic ID: 19733573
ČSFD person ID: 58923

Report an error or request removal Lineage (PROV-JSON)

🔗 Connections

← Creator 10

Dismaland, Balloon Girl, Love is in the Bin, The Walled Off Hotel, Devolved Parliament, The Son of a Migrant from Syria, Well Hung Lover, One Nation Under CCTV +2 more

Work location 9

France, London, New York City, Washington, D.C., Venice, Naples, Père Lachaise Cemetery, Occupied Palestinian territory +1 more

Occupation 8

writer, film director, painter, sculptor, street artist, activist shareholder, political activist, muralist

Genre 4

art of sculpture, graffiti, street art, public art

Notable work 4

Exit Through the Gift Shop, Love is in the Bin, One Nation Under CCTV, Slave Labour

Field of work 2

graffiti, street art

Influenced 2

Swoon, Andreas Hamran Færø

Award received 1

Film Independent Spirit Awards

Country of citizenship 1

United Kingdom

Described by source 1

UbuWeb

Films directed 1

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Films written 1

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Given name 1

Robin

Instance of 1

human

Languages spoken, written or signed 1

English

Movement 1

contemporary art

Native language 1

English

Owned entities 1

Love is in the Bin

Owner of 1

Love is in the Bin

Place of birth 1

Bristol

Sex or gender 1

male

Topic's main category 1

Category:Banksy

← Cast member 1

Exit Through the Gift Shop

← Category's main topic 1

Category:Banksy

← Curator 1

Dismaland

← Director of photography 1

Exit Through the Gift Shop

← FactGrid item ID 1

Saint-Ouen-du-Mesnil-Oger

Press Enter · cited answer in seconds

Summary

Banksy was born in 1973^[1] in Bristol^[2]. He has worked as a film director^[3], painter^[4], political activist^[5], writer^[6], and sculptor^[7].

Product Details

The following facts are restated verbatim from public-domain and CC0 open-data sources — every line is independently verifiable against the named source's catalog.

MusicBrainz — CC0 open music encyclopedia

Type: Person^[49]
Country: GB^[50]
Began / founded: 1974^[51]
MusicBrainz ID: dacf0119-dd09-4f80-b693-c0e5bb3d2a43^[52]

Why It Matters

Banksy has been cited as an influence by Swoon^[53], a graffiti artist^[54], b. 1978^[55], of United States^[56] and Andreas Hamran Færø^[57], a street artist^[58], b. 1977^[59], of Norway^[60], specialised in street art^[61].

FAQs

Where was Banksy born?

Banksy was born in Bristol^[2].

What did Banksy do for work?

Banksy worked as a film director^[3], painter^[4], political activist^[5], writer^[6], and sculptor^[7].

What awards did Banksy receive?

Honors received include Film Independent Spirit Awards^[27].

Who did Banksy influence?

Banksy has been cited as an influence by Swoon^[53] and Andreas Hamran Færø^[57].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

[2] ↑ Banksy — place of birth (P19): Bristol. RKDartists. reuters.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[28] ↑ Banksy — sex or gender (P21): male. Union List of Artist Names. Retrieved 2017-06-24. wikidata.org.
[8] ↑ Banksy — country of citizenship (P27): United Kingdom. wikidata.org.
[17] ↑ Banksy — field of work (P101): street art. wikidata.org.
[18] ↑ Banksy — field of work (P101): Bristol underground scene. wikidata.org.
[19] ↑ Banksy — field of work (P101): social commentary. wikidata.org.
[20] ↑ Banksy — field of work (P101): graffiti. wikidata.org.
[9] ↑ Banksy — native language (P103): English. wikidata.org.
[3] ↑ Banksy — occupation (P106): film director. wikidata.org.
[4] ↑ Banksy — occupation (P106): painter. Union List of Artist Names. Retrieved 2019-05-14. wikidata.org.
[5] ↑ Banksy — occupation (P106): political activist. wikidata.org.
[6] ↑ Banksy — occupation (P106): writer. wikidata.org.
[7] ↑ Banksy — occupation (P106): sculptor. wikidata.org.
[10] ↑ Banksy — occupation (P106): graffiti artist. Union List of Artist Names. wikidata.org.
[11] ↑ Banksy — occupation (P106): activist shareholder. The Fine Art Archive. Retrieved 2021-04-01. wikidata.org.
[12] ↑ Banksy — occupation (P106): muralist. Union List of Artist Names. wikidata.org.
[13] ↑ Banksy — occupation (P106): street art artist. streetartbio.com. streetartbio.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[14] ↑ Banksy — occupation (P106): artivist. wikidata.org.
[15] ↑ Banksy — occupation (P106): serigrapher. RKDartists. Retrieved 2025-12-14. wikidata.org.
[16] ↑ Banksy — occupation (P106): artist. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2026-04-20. wikidata.org.
[29] ↑ Banksy — movement (P135): contemporary art. Artnet. wikidata.org.
[30] ↑ Banksy — genre (P136): public art. Union List of Artist Names. wikidata.org.
[31] ↑ Banksy — genre (P136): social-artistic project. Union List of Artist Names. wikidata.org.
[32] ↑ Banksy — genre (P136): street art. wikidata.org.
[33] ↑ Banksy — genre (P136): graffiti. wikidata.org.
[34] ↑ Banksy — genre (P136): art of sculpture. wikidata.org.
[27] ↑ Banksy — award received (P166): Film Independent Spirit Awards. wikidata.org.
[35] ↑ Banksy — said to be the same as (P460): Robert Del Naja. bbc.com. Retrieved 2026-03-17. bbc.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[1] ↑ Banksy — date of birth (P569): 1973. Union List of Artist Names. reuters.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[36] ↑ Banksy — family name (P734): Gunningham. reuters.com. Retrieved 2026-03-17. reuters.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[37] ↑ Banksy — given name (P735): Robin. reuters.com. Retrieved 2026-03-17. reuters.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[38] ↑ Banksy — pseudonym (P742): Banksy. wikidata.org.
[21] ↑ Banksy — notable work (P800): One Nation Under CCTV. wikidata.org.
[22] ↑ Banksy — notable work (P800): Slave Labour. wikidata.org.
[23] ↑ Banksy — notable work (P800): Love is in the Bin. wikidata.org.
[24] ↑ Banksy — notable work (P800): Exit Through the Gift Shop. wikidata.org.
[25] ↑ Banksy — notable work (P800): Crude Oil (Vettriano). wikidata.org.
[26] ↑ Banksy — notable work (P800): untitled. wikidata.org.
[39] ↑ Banksy — official website (P856): https://banksy.co.uk. wikidata.org.
[40] ↑ Banksy — work location (P937): West End. RKDartists. Retrieved 2018-03-02. wikidata.org.
[41] ↑ Banksy — work location (P937): New York City. wikidata.org.
[42] ↑ Banksy — work location (P937): Washington, D.C.. wikidata.org.
[43] ↑ Banksy — work location (P937): Père Lachaise Cemetery. wikidata.org.
[44] ↑ Banksy — work location (P937): London. RKDartists. wikidata.org.
[45] ↑ Banksy — work location (P937): Naples. wikidata.org.
[46] ↑ Banksy — work location (P937): Venice. wikidata.org.
[47] ↑ Banksy — work location (P937): Occupied Palestinian territory. wikidata.org.
[48] ↑ Banksy — work location (P937): France. wikidata.org.

Product details (FDA / USDA / NHTSA public-domain catalog data)

[49] ↑ Banksy — Type: Person. MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
[50] ↑ Banksy — Country: GB. MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
[51] ↑ Banksy — Began / founded: 1974. MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
[52] ↑ Banksy — MusicBrainz ID: dacf0119-dd09-4f80-b693-c0e5bb3d2a43. MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

Inline context (facts about related entities)

[54] ↑ Swoon — P106: graffiti artist. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[55] ↑ Swoon — P569: b. 1978. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[56] ↑ Swoon — P27: United States. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[58] ↑ Andreas Hamran Færø — P106: street artist. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[59] ↑ Andreas Hamran Færø — P569: b. 1977. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[60] ↑ Andreas Hamran Færø — P27: Norway. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[61] ↑ Andreas Hamran Færø — P101: street art. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Banksy. Retrieved November 10, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/banksy

MLA “Banksy.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 10 Nov. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/banksy.

BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_banksy_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Banksy}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/banksy}, note = {Accessed: 2026-11-10}}

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According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Banksy — https://4ort.xyz/entity/banksy (retrieved 2026-11-10)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/banksy · Last refreshed: November 10, 2026

Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

2d ago · Mrwdat3 · 2026-11-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Benezit ID → B2297808

"Created claim: Benezit ID: B2297808, batch #294616"
15d ago · Ytterbyz · 2026-10-28 view diff on Wikidata ↗

NME artist ID → banksy

"Created claim: NME artist ID: banksy, Matched to banksy (#214812265) in NME artist #mix'n'match"
7w ago · C960657 · 2026-09-18 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Lex ID → Banksy

"Created claim: Lex ID: Banksy"
9w ago · KrBot bot · 2026-09-04 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Occupation → film director, painter, political activist +2

"Changed claim: Occupation: street art artist, разрешение перенаправления / resolving redirect street art artist → street art artist (…"
13w ago · Yirba · 2026-08-08 view diff on Wikidata ↗

HAND ID → 3FF7-93BE-D52E-D0CE-F9DE

"Changed the item: QuickStatements 3.0 batch #46230: HAND ID (0)"
18w ago · Sabelöga · 2026-07-07 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Wikisimpsons article ID → 28091

"Created claim: Wikisimpsons article ID: 28091, Matched to Banksy (#296169647) in Wikisimpsons #mix'n'matc"
21w ago · Yirba · 2026-06-13 view diff on Wikidata ↗

DMM director ID → 107214

"Created claim: DMM director ID: 107214, batch #259642"
21w ago · Jindřich Rubeš · 2026-06-12 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Notable work → One Nation Under CCTV, Slave Labour, Love is in the Bin +1

SVKKL authority ID → 0414580-Banksy-1974

"Created claim: SVKKL authority ID: 0414580-Banksy-1974, batch #259492"
25w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-17 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Occupation → film director, painter, political activist +2

"Changed the item: QuickStatements 3.0 batch #31711: import P21 and P106 from GND (10)"
27w ago · Naut-rena · 2026-05-01 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Name in native language → Banksy

"Created claim: Name in native language: Banksy"

Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.

Banksy

Facts

Summary

Product Details

MusicBrainz — CC0 open music encyclopedia

Why It Matters

FAQs

Where was Banksy born?

What did Banksy do for work?

What awards did Banksy receive?

Who did Banksy influence?

Related Entities

References

Direct Wikidata claims

Product details (FDA / USDA / NHTSA public-domain catalog data)

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

Inline context (facts about related entities)

📑 Cite this page

Edit History