Santa’s Ghetto was characterised as a squat art concept shop set up around December each year from 2002-07 in different locations around London. The first one was at the Dragon bar in Shoreditch, characterised as a ‘boozer where degenerate creative types would go to get fucked up’ by Steve Lazarides Banksy’s Manger in the 2000’s. A regular hang-out spot for Banksy at the time.
These exhibitions featured a series of artworks and installations created by Banksy and other artists, all of which were designed to subvert traditional Christmas iconography and comment on political situations. Including Santa hanging from a noose outside the building, needless to say this gained a few complaints.
Santas Ghetto was a controversial set of exhibitions and was seen as offensive by some. Which sent ripples through the art world with its unorthodox approach to the gallery experience. This helped Banksy’s journey into the art world as an outsider through the early 2000’s. It also received praise for its creativity and its ability to draw attention to important political issues with satirical humour. Some of Banksy’s artwork for the shows would be created at the venues and as soon as the work was dry, it was out on the floor selling straight away for the cost of around £250 each. These pieces now are now valued at over £1 million each.
The exhibitions were built on themes commenting on issues of consumerism, commercialization, and inequality. One of the most famous pieces in the exhibition was a life-sized sculpture of a Guantanamo Bay detainee in a Santa Claus suit, which highlighted issues of human rights abuses and the War on Terror.
Other works in the exhibition included a giant mural of a child in a gas mask holding a doll, a series of stencilled images of Queen Elizabeth II with a barcode across her face, and a piece featuring a homeless man begging on a bench surrounded by Christmas decorations.
The London exhibitions were highly successful, drawing large crowds of vandals and art enthusiasts alike and also attracting significant media attention. However, some accuse Banksy of exploiting political issues for commercial gain. Despite the controversy, “Santa’s Ghetto” remains an important example of how street art can be used to engage with social and political issues. While challenging established ways of thinking and the environment around how art should be exhibited in a gallery setting.
