An Oasis of Banksy set to music
Yamaha Music London hosted an event to raise money for the charity Oasis complete with an installation of a Banksy art piece
Yamaha Music London chose the Valentine’s weekend, commencing 16 February, to showcase their recently installed ‘Valentine’s Day Mascara’ by the guerrilla artist Banksy and raise some money for Oasis in the process.
The piece by Banksy originally appeared on a wall of a property in Margate, Kent, for Valentine’s Day 2023.
The owners of the wall have recently chosen to donate the piece to the Oasis charity to raise funds for their work to help people recover from domestic violence, as well as campaigning for changes in government policy to help tackle domestic abuse.
Yamaha Music London are hoping to raise a six-figure sum for the Oasis charity with the sale of the piece.
In addition to this they ran a charity auction featuring a brick from the Banksy wall and a Yamaha keyboard.
A total of £5,000 was raised by the auction and later raffle.
The charity has supported countless individuals experiencing domestic abuse, which means that they had a mixture of sad and empowering stories to tell about the people they have helped.
They work closely with SafeLives, Women’s Aid, Sistah Space, Refuge, Respect and Galop to campaign for awareness, understanding and action, training and service development.
Margate has the highest cases of domestic abuse in Kent, which may be why Banksy chose to locate his mural there.
Since the early 1990’s Banksy has left his mark on urban landscapes around the world, helping to raise the profile of street art into a globally recognised movement.
A committed humanitarian and environmentalist, Banksy uses his voice to fight for the causes he believes in.
Tackling domestic violence being a case in point on this occasion.
Yamaha Music London store manager Stephen Davies states:
“We are privileged to have ‘Valentine’s Day Mascara’ on display to share with the wider community, its private owners love the fact that their art is on public display in a music location. Art can be controversial, sparking conversations that lead to positive changes in society. It is a powerful medium, articulating emotions and thoughts.
“We are highlighting the charity Oasis Domestic Abuse Services in Margate who work for women and children against domestic violence, which the composition of the piece created by Banksy, highlights. This charity was chosen by the owners of the wall in Margate and there will be opportunity to donate to this charity in store.”
The event also featured a number of amazing musical performances from Yamaha’s Music Ambassadors, indie-soul sister duo Deuxes, guitar virtuoso Hide Takemoto, and folk-pop duo Stone Jets that added a positive note to what might otherwise have been an extremely serious evening.
