TORONTO – Yorkville Village in collaboration with StART [StreetART Toronto] presented by AURORA and curated by Substance Art Collective has created a free public exhibit featuring one of Banksy’s most iconic pieces along side pieces from LA Artist RISK and local toronto artists. The Banksy piece featured is “HAIGHT STREET RAT” which was one of the pieces saved by art collector Brian Greif during Banksy’s “Tour de San Francisco in 2010. During Banksy’s time in SF he completed 6 large pieces, most of which would be tagged over, ro painted over by the city or building owners. This is due to a strict graffiti removal ordinance that requires building owners to paint over any graffiti on their buildings within 30 days, or be fined $500 by the City of San Francisco for them to remove it. The controversial nature of obtaining this piece would become the subject matter of the documentary “Saving Banksy”, which was also executive produced by Brian Greif. In “Saving Banksy” we see the struggles that Brian Greif went through to preserve this piece of art, so it could be appreciated by the public [The way street art is intended] and not just sold on the auction block, or worse yet painted over. Brian Greif to date has turned down countless offers to sell, with offers up to 3 million dollars. Continue Reading