The Art of Banksy- SF Exhibition

TL:DR if you are interested in viewing over 100+ pieces of Banksy in what is advertised as the "largest Banksy Exhibit ever assembled", the Art of Banksy is a featured in an exhibition at the Palace of Fine arts in San Francisco, with tickets ranging from $40-$70. 

It does not appear to be endorsed by Banksy, who would probably be anti-captalist about the exhibition, but maybe would want his artwork and message spread anyways. There are a lot of screen prints, quotes, and you can spend 1-2 hours pondering political and social commentary expressed through "art."

At the end there are 5 photo-ops i.e. you can be a girl with balloon; and there's also a VIP lounge that is probably not worth the extra $30 unless you really want to see the exhibit and there are only VIP tix left. 

Logistics: 

Parking - if you can, get dropped of at 3601 Lyon St- I parked on the opposite side and walked all the way across in the rain which was not fun. 

Tickets can be purchased for entry in 1 hour time slots i.e. 6 pm, and although the website says they are strict and charge to change the time slot, my group was fortunate to be allowed in one hour earlier. They checked vaccination status and ID at the door. The entrance feels like a large warehouse, with a box office if you didn't buy tickets in advance (potentially smart if this is a last minute thing and maybe you avoid the $7 online ticket fee) and a coat check. Also- definitely use the restroom before otherwise you are stuck in the 1-2 hour maze before getting a bathroom break at the end.

Sometimes I couldn't even tell what things were art vs not- but at least I wasn't as bad as this person below:

Not me - from the ig of "overheardinsanfrancisco"

It felt about half full the night I went, it was a fairly organized line with dots telling you where to proceed. Although some rooms felt about half full in viewing art, but there was definitely opportunity to stand in front of the art if you want to inspect it or read about a particular piece. 

Walking in a maze-like dark exhibition hall, you essentially view Banksy works in chronological order. 

I paid over $40 to look at a welcome mat...

I'll just post all the pics I took which were around half of the pieces and some quotes- many pieces were repetitive and I was too lazy to take a pic of every one. My favorites included the ones mocking Disney.

Dismaland is definitely one of my favorites! 

Here are some samples of photo-ops- featuring the planner of this outing my friend Danna! 

Upstairs after the exhibit and restrooms is the VIP lounge, with two more big print photo-ops and a lounge area. You also get a "Limited edition poster and VIP souvenir laminate," which may be worth $30 to you.

Overall it was interesting to learn about the enigmatic Banksy. While there are many iconic prints such as variations of girl with balloon and some educational exhibits, I prefer looking at art that has more color and I was too impatient to stand in line to view some of the pieces up close. This exhibition is definitely just a cash grab for the pop-up organizers, but if you want a maybe political/art themed date night at Palace of Fine Arts, this would be good.