Anyway, the exhibition is on the second floor of the Stadsfeestzaal, a super fancy-looking shopping mall with loads of gold and pretty staircases. Not the place you'd expect a street art exhibition to take place, but that contrast adds a little something to the experience in my opinion.
There are over 80 pieces on display, curated by Steve Lazarides. Don't worry if that name means nothing to you, the guy was Banksy's agent and honestly, that's all you need to know. It's not like it's suddenly all about him. No, this exhibition is just about art, just the way I like it: photography allowed, thought-provoking and set in a perfect atmosphere.

I arrived quite early, which was a good thing, because loads of people rushed in about ten minutes after I'd entered the first dark room of the exhibition. That probably sounds weird, me calling it a dark room, but let me explain: of course there are lights aimed at the art, but the rooms in which the art is at display are quite dark. The walls are decorated with dripping paint or completely covered in prints of art work. Pretentious as this remark may sound, I feel like this all added to the feel of being out on the street, discovering street art the way it should be discovered.


Now here's the thing about the art: it's awesome, but you probably already know that. Banksy is a phenomenon, even my mom knows his work. In a regular exhibition however, I wouldn't think about the art I'm looking at. I took art history classes in high school and every time I had to think about the meaning behind a painting it went a little like: "This painting means a lot. The artist uses [insert color] as a symbol for [insert morbid idea] and the composition shows us that [insert completely made-up life lesson]." Usually I just wrote down a load of nonsense, because a Michelango just doesn't spark my interest. I like to think about the state of the world, politics, society and how it demands us to conform to it (yes, I know I'm weird). Banksy's work is ideal for that.


Do I need to say more? The art speaks for itself. If you don't like rats it's might not be your cup of tea though, since Banksy enjoys painting rats. I could give you an in-depth analysis of his choices and all that stuff, but to me that's not important. The most important thing for me was that his art, besides making me think about our society, also managed to inspire me. Before I visited the exhibition I'd spent an hour ranting to my friend about how I don't like the way society pushes me down career paths and into certain behaviour. I don't like how we are made to follow the rules and view the world through the same lens as everyone else. Street art offers me an escape from those things. Banksy's shown me I can use it to make my voice heard. If vandalizing is a way to change the world, make it a better looking place and maybe change a few people's minds along the way, then maybe I should give it a shot.

So yeah, all the pretentious words aside, I definitely enjoyed it a lot. Still there's one thing I didn't like all that much: I took my time to see all the art, took pictures and even vlogged in the middle of the exhibition, and after all that I was still done with the entire thing within an hour. Oh, and you know those fancy picture books they usually sell in a museum? I couldn't find one at the gift shop. That made me quite sad, but I bought one when I came home, so no real problem there. Besides, small as both gift shop and exhibition may be, they'll fill you with so much creativity you'll want to pick up a spray can right away. That more than makes up for the lack of a fancy picture book, I'd say.


One last thing before I leave and let you wonder if I'm really going to vandalize my hometown because of an art exhibition: if you ever get the chance to see Banksy's work at display and you are in any way interested in street art, don't doubt, buy a ticket and GO!