Sale of stolen Banksy mural cancelled

Level 1

Elementary

1 Warmer
Choose the correct answer. 1. Bansky is a. a fashion designer. b. a musician. c. a street artist. 2. Banksy a. chooses to keep his identity secret (no one knows who he is). b. is a university lecturer. c. lives in a cave. 3. Haringey is a. a large house. b. a part of London. c. an island off the north of Scotland.

2 Key words
Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text. Then find the words in the article. The paragraph numbers are given to help you. auction campaign disappeared secretive slave labour

1. An ________________ is a public occasion when things are sold to the people who offer the most money for them. (para 1) 2. Something that ________________ was moved somewhere where it could no longer be seen. (para 1) 3. ________________ is when someone has to work hard for little or no money. (para 2) 4. Someone who is ________________ does not tell people things. (para 3) 5. A ________________ is a series of actions intended to make something change. (para 4) condemned victory impact councillor stolen property

6. When something makes an ________________, it has a big effect or influence. (para 5) 7. A ________________ is a time when someone wins. (para 5) 8. A ________________ is someone who works for the local government or council. (para 5) 9. ________________ is something that belongs to someone and has been taken away without their permission. (para 7) 10. When someone said publicly that something is bad or wrong, they have ________________ it. (para 11)

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2013 NEWS LESSONS / Sale of stolen Banksy mural cancelled / Elementary

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Sale of stolen Banksy mural cancelled

Level 1

Elementary
10 Poundland said it had no idea who removed the 4ft x 5ft mural from the side of its shop. 11 Banksy himself has not commented on the sale of Slave Labour, but he has condemned people who have tried to sell his artwork in the past. 12 Stephan Keszler, the dealer at a 2011 auction in New York that also planned to sell Bankys paintings, believes selling Banksys works without his permission is fair. 13 He does something on other peoples walls and houses without asking. The owner of the property can do whatever they want with it, Keszler said.
Guardian News and Media 2013 First published in The Guardian, 23/02/13

Sale of stolen Banksy mural cancelled at 11th hour

Richard Luscombe 23 February, 2013 1 The auction of a Banksy painting that disappeared from the wall of a north London shop was stopped just moments before it was going to be sold. 2 Slave Labour is a spray-painted artwork that shows a child making flags. The expected price was about $700,000. It was going to be in a sale of street art in Florida. 3 But Frederic Thut, the owner of the Fine Arts Auction Miami art house said that Slave Labour and a second work by the secretive British street artist were removed from sale at the auction. He did not want to give the name of the seller. 4 People in Haringey, London, were very happy, because they led a campaign to stop the sale of the artwork that was removed from the wall of a Poundland shop in Haringey. 5 I will write to the auction house to find out what will happen next, but for now we are really pleased that a peoples campaign in London has had an impact in the US. Its a real victory for the people. said Alan Strickland, a Haringey councillor. 6 The auction house said it had told the owners of the two Banksys that they should remove them from the sale. There are no legal problems with the sale of the artwork by Banksy, but FAAM told its sellers they should remove them from the auction. 7 Critics have said the auction house was buying and selling stolen property but Thut said that the seller was the real owner and that the sale was legal. 8 He added that his gallery had received many emails and phone calls from the UK, but said he thought it was right to sell the two pieces of artwork because it would keep them safe. 9 The second Banksy that was going to be auctioned was a 2007 artwork called Wet Dog that was removed from a Bethlehem wall. Its estimated price is up to $800,000.
Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2013

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NEWS LESSONS / Sale of stolen Banksy mural cancelled / Elementary

N T O FR BE C O DO O M W P W N IA EB LO B SI A L TE DE E D

Sale of stolen Banksy mural cancelled

Level 1

Elementary

3 Comprehension check
Choose the best answer according to the text. 1. What kind of paint was used to paint Slave Labour? a. watercolour b. oil paint c. spray paint 2. Where was it painted? a. on a wall in London b. on a wall in Bethlehem c. on a wall in Miami 3. Where was Wet Dog painted? a. on a wall in London b. on a wall in Bethlehem c. on a wall in Miami 4. Where was the auction house that wanted to sell these paintings? a. in the USA b. in the UK c. in Israel 5. Banksy is a. American. b. British. c. Israeli. 6. He said a. it is OK for people to sell his artwork without his permission. b. it is not OK for people to sell his artwork without his permission. c. nothing about people selling his work. 7. Who campaigned to stop the painting from being sold at auction? a. Banksy b. an American art dealer c. people in North London 8. Stephan Keszler says that if a painting is painted on a building ... a. the building owner should keep it safe. b. the building owner can do what he likes with it. c. the building owner should be allowed to buy it.

4 Discussion
Is what Banksy does vandalism or is it art? How would you feel, and what would you do, if a famous artist painted a picture on your house or office?

5 Webquest
You can find lots of images of, and articles and videos about, Banksy and his work on the internet. The best place to start is here on his official website: http://www.banksy.co.uk/.

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2013 NEWS LESSONS / Sale of stolen Banksy mural cancelled / Elementary

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N T O FR BE C O DO O M W P W N IA EB LO B SI A L TE DE E D

Sale of stolen Banksy mural cancelled

Level 1 KEY
1 Warmer
1. c 2. a 3. b

Elementary

2 Key words
1. auction 2. disappeared 3. slave labour 4. secretive 5. campaign 6. impact 7. victory 8. councillor 9. stolen property 10. condemned

3 Comprehension check
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. c a b a b b c b

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NEWS LESSONS / Sale of stolen Banksy mural cancelled / Elementary

O FR BE C O DO O M W P W N IA EB LO B SI A L TE DE E D