An official unveiling event of the Banksy Valentine’s Day Mascara artwork at Yamaha London on Friday (February 16) raised £4054 for Oasis Domestic Abuse Service.
The mural is currently on show at Yamaha’s flagship music store in Soho and is expected to return to Dreamland by the ‘end of Spring.’
The Banksy originally appeared on a property in Margate’s Park Place on February 13 last year. The piece was then removed the following month, overseen by Red Eight Gallery which was called in by the artist owners of the property to deal with preservation and sale of the work.
It was taken to Dreamland and unveiled last June, with an announcement in August that the park would be the permanent home of the artwork following a decision to sell it by issuing shares.
Showpiece announced a ‘fractional ownership’ plan for the piece, which has been valued at £6 million, with 27,000 shares costing £120 each.
The art – which shows a woman with a swollen shut eye and missing tooth with a man’s legs poking out from a chest freezer, alongside an upturned chair –resulted in a pledge from the owners to donate a six figure sum out of the sale price to Oasis Domestic Abuse Service which has operated in Thanet for 30 years and expanded to North Kent and Medway in recent years.
The funding for Oasis is earmarked to be used by the charity for preventative work aimed particularly at young people.
However, that sale is not yet complete and so the sum has not been passed to the charity as yet.
So far Oasis has received £4346 from donations related to the work, including the £4054 from the Yamaha event.
Julian Usher, from Red Eight Gallery, said: “The owners have agreed with Oasis a six-figure donation on the sale of the piece.
“The shares sold covered the costs to date. Neither we nor the owners have received any funds to date. The costs are still £54,000 negative. We are in discussion with several parties re the future of the piece,”
Mr Usher said the Yamaha event raised awareness and much needed funds for Oasis.
Oasis CEO Claire Williams previously said: “Oasis has not received any money from the shares sold so far, but we’re grateful for the awareness and conversations the mural has sparked around domestic abuse and the devastating impact it has in our community.”
The funding will be used for the charity’s young people services. The charity provides crisis intervention but also has outreach work, goes into schools and takes young people on activities when they may not have had those opportunities because of their home situation.
Oasis Domestic Abuse Service
Oasis Domestic Abuse Service has been working with people affected by domestic abuse for nearly 30 years. The charity began with a handful of dedicated people opening a refuge service in 1994. Back then two women a week were being murdered as a result of abuse in the home. Sadly, that statistic remains the same today. Every day the charity’s staff are confronted with the distressing results of this issue on the lives of the adults and children whom they work for.
Today, Oasis delivers services for adults, children and young people affected by domestic abuse in East Kent, Medway and North Kent. The award-winning charity has built an innovative, committed approach to not only intervening, but also preventing these issues in the future.
The Early Intervention Programme supports vulnerable children and young people, a dedicated schools programme teaches young people about healthy relationships and Oasis Consults equips and enables professionals in frontline services to understand and recognise signs of domestic abuse and trauma.
Getting in contact
Call Oasis’s helpline on 0800 917 9948
(Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 09:30–11:30am, 12:30–2:30pm Thursday and Friday 09:30–11:30am, except bank holidays)
Visit www.oasisdaservice.org
In an emergency, call 999
