Banksy's Dismaland heads for French refugee camp
9 October, 2015 |
A group of volunteers from Bristol have set off for a refugee camp in France with the fixtures and fittings from Banksy’s Dismaland ‘bemusement park’
The dismantled attraction, which stood for a month in the abandoned Tropicana lido in Weston-Super-Mare, was donated to group Aid Box Convoy by the artist following the park’s closure at the end of September.
It is understood Banksy is also sending out a team of carpenters and builders to help re-use elements of Dismaland to build cooking stations and ‘five communal’ shelters at the camp.
The Bemusement park was originally set to be re-assembled as the ‘Jungle’ camp in Calais but Imogen McIntosh, who is heading Aid Box Convoy, persuaded Banksy to give the materials to their Bristol-based relief effort.
The team with around 300 boxes is understood to be heading to a smaller camp in northern France where conditions have been described as ‘horrendous’.
Speaking to Bristol 24/7, McIntosh said: ‘Dismaland is all taken down now. We are left with huge sheets of wood and materials which we can use.’
According to McIntosh, the camp had rapidly grown in size over the last three weeks with the arrival of 600 extra people which had swelled the population to more than 1,000.
The group plans to make future visits to France to help ‘three other camps in the area’.
Rob Crook from Bristol Building Support Through Shelter will initially help to construct the shelters.
Bristol aid convoy sets off for French refugee camp
BBC 9 October 2015
Bristol 247
The dismantled Dismaland theme park is on its way to a refugee camp in France after Banksy donated it to a group of Bristol volunteers.
The Weston-super-Mare Bemusement park was originally due to go to the so-called "Jungle" camp in Calais, France.
It has now been donated to Aid Box Convoy, which is taking it to a smaller camp where conditions are said to be "horrendous".
The fixtures and fittings will be used to build shelters and cooking stations.
More than 150,000 people visited the Dismaland exhibition at the disused Tropicana site in Weston.
Bristol 247
Now, eight vehicles and 20 volunteers will take leftovers from Bristol to the camp in northern France. They are also taking with them five tonnes of donated firewood and some 300 aid boxes containing food, toiletries and cooking equipment.
'Huge wooden sheets'
Co-founder of Aid Box Convoy, Imogen McIntosh, said the camp only has basic sanitation and has "grown from 400 people three weeks ago to more than 1,000, with families turning up every day".
Ms McIntosh said Dismaland organisers changed their mind about sending the camp to Calais when they heard there were other camps in France which hadn't received any aid.
She added: "It has all been taken down now and we are left with huge sheets of wood which we can use to build the shelters.
Dismaland is also sending a team of chippies and builders out to the camp, who will be creating any structures that we need with the materials."
The group has also been supported by Bristol-based Arcadia Spectacular - known for its festival fire-breathing spider - which has donated a vehicle and trailer.
"People have been so fantastic, it's been such a brilliant response and so much better than we could ever have imagined," added Ms McIntosh.
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