A new public artwork beside the well-known Banksy mural in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter has been revealed as being created by artist and Birmingham City University (BCU) graduate, Dion Kitson.
The work was a collaboration between the Jewellery Quarter Development Trust (JQDT), Ikon Gallery, BCU and Kitson.
The sculpture was designed to raise awareness of homelessness during the winter months and to encourage support for Kitson’s chosen charity, SIFA Fireside.
Over the last 12 months alone, SIFA Fireside has supported nearly 3,000 individuals who are unhoused or at risk of homelessness.
Crated by Dion Kitson, who graduated with an MA in Fine Arts from BCU’s School of Art, the artwork depicts Santa lying on a bench, echoing Banksy’s 2019 piece God Bless Birmingham.
Wrapped in festive fairy lights, the piece invites viewers to consider the vulnerability and invisibility of people sleeping rough at the year’s coldest point.
“The School of Art has made significant contributions to public art in Birmingham. From the city’s sculptor and Head of Sculpture, William Bloye (Hall of Memory and ‘Golden Boys’), to more recently, Luke Perry (Forward Together),” said Andrew Kulman, Course Leader for MA Visual Communication and Professor of Graphic Art at BCU.
“They are joined by recent graduate, Dion Kitson, whose interventions have been appearing across the city.
“It was an obvious choice to select Dion to respond to the Banksy mural in the Jewellery Quarter – he shares the same guerrilla approach and there’s often parody and satire in both their work.
“Working together with Ikon and the JQDT has offered a perfect partnership and solution.”
During the first two days the artwork was on display, volunteers, posing as security staff, collected donations for SIFA Fireside from visitors via QR codes. A dedicated donation link remains open for further contributions.
“It’s important that our public spaces reflect the realities facing our communities,” said David Mahony from the Jewellery Quarter Development Trust. “Homelessness affects many people across the UK, including here in Birmingham.
“By using the Banksy site as the setting for an annual winter intervention, we can draw on the Jewellery Quarter’s creativity to focus attention on those who need it most during the colder months and direct support to organisations like SIFA Fireside.”
Linzi Stauvers, Ikon Artistic Director (Education) said: “Birmingham has some great public art, including historic pieces of graffiti.
“Over time, these works can get overlooked and their social commentary dampened. Unfortunately, this is the case with Birmingham’s Banksy, which is barely visible behind layers of perspex and condensation.
“Dion Kitson’s sculptural response is not only a homage to another artist, but an acknowledgement of their call to action.
As a temporary intervention, it aims to amplify a message about the homelessness that is experienced by many Birmingham residents, including children and young people, this Christmas.”
