After five weeks, Banksy’s “bemusement park” art exhibit, Dismaland, is closing permanently. What’s more, the anonymous artist announced on Dismaland’s website that the structures and material from the park will be sent to a refugee camp in France.
The short announcement read, “All the timber and fixtures from Dismaland are being sent to the ‘jungle’ refugee camp near Calais to build shelters. No online tickets will be available.”
Some 5,000 displaced people are camped out in and around the French port there, NPR’s Leila Fadel reports from London.
Here’s more from Leila:
“The park was billed as the U.K.’s most disappointing tourist attraction, and it was built purposely gloomy. Banksy, the anonymous English graffiti artist, said it was a family attraction that acknowledges inequality and impending catastrophe.
“But tonight it closes its doors. … It sold out every day it was open and some 150,000 people visited in the five-week run.”
After an initial online-ticketing snafu, the park in Weston-super-Mare, England, was a huge success, bringing 20 million euros to the seaside town, according to the BBC.