The artist is trying to save a former UK prison site from falling to developers.
The artist, who has not been identified, announced on Saturday that he was going to raise $13 million to transform the Reading Prison in Bristol into a "refuge for art" and prevent the site from being turned over to a housing development.
The Ministry of Justice closed bids for the prison in early 2021, but a local government body is trying to preserve the site. The funding would amount to $16.6 million.
A mural titled "create escape" appeared on a perimeter wall of the jail in March. The art, which depicts a man rappelling down a wall with a rope and a typewriter, was accompanied by an announcement video from Banksy in which he claimed the piece as his own in the style of a Bob Ross painting.
A post was shared by Banksy.
Oscar Wilde was sentenced to two years of hard labor for gross indecency and served it at Reading Prison. Wilde was found to be in a gay relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas.
Wilde was the patron saint of smashing two contrasting ideas together to create magic, according to the Guardian. "Converting the place that destroyed him into a refuge for art feels so perfect we have to do it."
The Bristol Museum and Art Gallery displayed the stencil that was used to paint "Create Escape" in December, and Banksy said he would get $13 million from the sale of the stencil.
Dame Judi Dench, Sir Kenneth Branagh, Kate Winslet, and Natalie Dormer have all publicly supported the campaign to convert the jail into a cultural center. Local government officials declared their support to preserve the building.
The council has only had informal approaches from representatives of the artist, according to the leader. The prison's huge historical and cultural value has been recognised by the wider arts, heritage and cultural community, who all support our bid.
The Ministry of Justice did not respond to Insider's request for comment on the sale of the prison.
