Carluke. New York. Liverpool.
Banksy fans from near and far queued for hours on Sunday morning outside Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) to be among the first members of the public to see the elusive artist’s major new exhibition.
‘Cut & Run’, which has been officially authorised by Banksy, runs at the city centre gallery for three months until the end of August.
Jamie Donaghy and friend Sasha Hampton, from Carluke, were first in line for walk-in tickets, having arrived at the GoMA at 4:30am.
“We are really pleased. We didn’t think we’d make it in. We thought there would be sleeping bags and flasks and what have you,” Mr Donaghy told The Herald.
“This is the first day so it felt special. Our first chance to attend a public exhibition of his work. It’s monumental. It’s a big day.
READ MORE: How GoMA brought Banksy to Glasgow - and kept it top secret
“With your priorities in life, art has got to be a big one for me. And Banksy is the epitome of what art should be. It’s about change, it’s about challenge. It’s authentic. His priorities are right. He’s a great artist.”
Also in the queue to see the exhibition was Tanya Malott from Upstate New York, who is in Glasgow to see Elton John perform at the OVO Hydro.
She told The Herald: "I’m a huge fan. I remember the story of him selling his art in Central Park in 2013. It was a huge deal. I’ve seen his documentary and I love his work.
“I’ll see it twice maybe, if I really like it I’ll come back and see it again. I’m going to Edinburgh but I’ve cleared my schedule on Wednesday to come back here for the day.”
Likewise, Liverpool natives Alan Reed and Natasha Glassock also took advantage of a visit to Glasgow to see Elton John to take in Banksy’s new exhibition.
“We got up at 7am this morning to come here. After a late night last night”, Mr Reed said.
Ms Glassock added: “It’s massive. I imagine Glasgow will get quite busy over the next week or so.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the stab-proof vest that Stormzy wore, because I was at Glastonbury that year. That’s the only thing I know that is in the show.”
Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council, was at the GoMA to witness punters pour in through the door at GoMA to see what is Banksy’s first solo exhibition in over a decade.
She told The Herald: “I was lucky enough to get a preview and I am really pleased and relieved to be able to genuinely say that I loved it. I was knocked out by it. It makes me more excited knowing what people are going to experience.
READ MORE: Why the Banksy show hands Glasgow vital cultural capital
“The fact Banksy chose Glasgow. It’s a great compliment to us. He’s the most famous artist in the world. He’s provocative. He’s always challenging. He always makes you think, and laugh.
“I hadn’t realised quite how massive this was going to be in terms of the global interest and the fact people are travelling from all the world to see it.
"The interest in Banksy is that huge. It’s fantastic. And then, while they are here they can experience all that Glasgow has to offer. Come here for Banksy and discover Glasgow.”
Oban-native Sophie Campbell, who lives and works in Glasgow as a textile designer, was also among the first members of the public to see the exhibition on Sunday morning.
Speaking to The Herald moments after her visit, she said: “I thought it was so, so good. It was nice to see the actual stencils. It was nice to see the real thing as well. I think because there’s such mystery around him, to see an exhibition you kind of don’t know what to expect.
“It’s a bit of a surprise and everyone loves that level of intrigue. You can’t help yourself. There’s a lot of thought-provoking stuff, it’s not just graffiti. There’s a lot of stories, not a narrative.
“A lot of things nowadays are always down south. And the fact Banksy opened it here, at the GoMA, in front of the statue. It’s kind of iconic. You couldn’t miss it. Not if you are here anyway. I told my family in Oban that they need to come down and see it.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here