A work by the elusive street artist Banksy looks likely to secure the future of a struggling youth club in Bristol.
Dennis Stinchcombe, manager of the Broad Plain Boys’ Club, which was first established in 1874, said it had been in danger of closing in 15 months due to funding cuts.
But in April the artwork, Mobile Lovers, depicting a couple embracing while both checking their mobile phones, appeared on a wall in Clement Street, near the club.
Stinchcombe said as soon as it appeared he received an offer more than of £1m. It is now thought to be worth some £3m.
The artwork ended up at the centre of a dispute over ownership between the club and Bristol City Council. It was taken and put on display at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery where it remains.
But the Bristol-based artist, whose works sell for millions of pounds, wrote to Stinchcombe saying he had his “blessing to do what he felt right with the piece", signing the note with his graffiti tag.
“His note was quite poignant. He said he admired what we are doing that it’s good for the community and said 'I want you to have it',” Stinchcombe told Civilsociety.co.uk. “It was really positive stuff.”
The city’s mayor, George Ferguson, tweeted on Tuesday that he had received confirmation by Banksy that the note was authentic. “Great to have a clear resolution”, he tweeted, saying the work now belonged to the club.
Stinchcombe said Banksy was the club’s “saviour”.
“It’s such a fantastic thing to happen,” he said.
He is now bringing together the club’s trustees and management team for a meeting to set up a committee and speak to experts about the artwork's worth.
“I’ve had two or three people who want to talk about it today and some who want to keep it in Bristol and say money is no object,” he said.
The club has six staff members and works with 1,000 young people a month. It was struggling after years of “hellish” recession, losing council funding of £12,000 a year, and a contract with a local school, which was forced to close down, he said.
Young people from the club had taken part in a sponsored bike ride, swimathon and wakathon, but the club was stuggling to raise the £120,000 needed to stay open.
“This has given us publicity about what we do and that in itself will be beneficial,” Stinchcombe said. “I think we’re going to be here for some time now. Money goes to money.”
More than 20,000 people have visited the piece at Bristol Museum. Stinchcombe added: “It’s beautiful. It sets out what’s going on in the world at the moment. People are more interested in their phones and electronic games, than in relationships. Mobile Lovers is endemic in our society. I think he’s got it right on the button.”
