Santa's Ghetto 2004, Charing Cross Road

Santa's Ghetto: 24th Mar 2005 - 16:19 GMT

Adjacent to Soho Original Books
121-125 Charing Cross Road
London
WC2H 0EW

banksy fan: 24th Mar 2005 - 16:22 GMT

The Ghetto offered a unique opportunity to view some cutting edge art including Banksy's "That Christ painting". The image was controversially dropped from Bob Geldof's Light up London campaign in 2003 but has since been praised by church leaders and Mayor Ken Livingston.

The event featured the talents of Gorillaz creator Jamie Hewlett, new paintings from 3D of Massive Attack, weirdo video director Chris Cunningham, and 'Britain's best doodler' David Shrigley. Mutoid Waste supply a welded winter wonderland that was not suitable for viewing by children and a genuine homeless man dressed as Santa was handing out broken toys.

observant: 27th Mar 2005 - 22:05 GMT

Hey, who thinks "banksy fan" is the organiser? nice bit of covert PR, chaps. Shame the posting was a few mins after your last one and written as a press release! lol

annabel: 31st Mar 2005 - 15:58 GMT

the shop's been gone for months, so if it's PR is shockingly badly executed.

for a time there was also a full-sized santa hanging from a noose outside, just above the door. went back the next night to take a picture myself, but he was gone. i hope it wasn't the homeless man, i coulda sworn it was a dummy...

picked up my copy of 'book' there. it is brilliant, and no this isn't PR. look: http://s85424629.oneandoneshop.co.uk/books/samples/modern-toss/

Jamie: 31st Mar 2005 - 17:48 GMT

Stinking Art Piss. I don't think this was a PR stunt as the shop was only open for the christmas period, although no doubt the body of the entry has been transplanted from an original press release. I'm sorry to have missed it, it looked kickass; maybe a tad pretentious and uppity perhaps, but hey it's art piss and it stank

steelisreal: 26th Apr 2005 - 19:49 GMT

i went to this when it was in carnaby street, maybe it was 03

i have pictures of the jesus and alot of other stuff i will post.

kobe: 9th May 2005 - 18:29 GMT

kobe: 9th May 2005 - 18:31 GMT

Santas ghetto ho ho HO?: 11th Sep 2005 - 02:01 GMT

hello fellow people is this santas ghetto thing on in 2006 coz im going to london and i would really appreciate some tips on where to go....Santas Ghetto looks like the one thing to look forward to... love your work jamie

Bye for now - always - Zoe

anon (217.205.0.17): 12th Dec 2005 - 09:06 GMT

Its on now... it opened last week on Berwick Street Soho,
and Closes down for another year on Christmas Eve.

anon (217.205.0.17): 12th Dec 2005 - 09:07 GMT

Full Listing here

SANTAS GHETTO OPENS IT DOORS FOR THE FOURTH YEAR
AND IS OPEN FROM TODAY UNTIL DECEMBER 24TH.

The ghetto is a street level free-for-all art gallery that brings
you some of the most feared names from the failed artist circuit

All picturesonwalls prints, books, stickers, and original
art is for sale. Along with new exclusive prints for the ghetto by
Paul Insect, Jamie Hewlett, Banksy, Sickboy, 3D

TIMES
Open daily from 10am until 8pm,
(9pm on Thursdays, 5pm on Sundays) until December 24th

VENUE
9 Berwick St, Soho, London W1

FEATURING...

I LIKE DRAWING - a bloke called Ian who has a beard and draws on rubbish
3D - former boy band member who paints in the shed at the bottom of his garden
BANKSY - stencil graffiti artist who likes to be anonymous but gets in the papers a lot
SOLO ONE - sticker king of south London who works in a swimming pool
DAVID SHRIGLEY - king doodler, painter and film maker
PAUL INSECT - East end graphic design king-pin
JAMIE HEWLETT - responsible for the biggest cartoon band the world has ever known
GEE VAUCHER - former crass collaborator and official portrait painter of the Left
STANLEY DONWOOD - 'the fifth member of radiohead' yet strangely the best looking
SICKBOY - graffiti with a middle-eastern-temple-type twist
KELSEY BROOKS - awkward animal angst from San Francisco
FAILE - poets of the New York fly-poster revolution
LUKE EGAN - purveyor of inflatable sculptures and novel uses of the traffic cone
CHRIS CUNNINGHAM - maker of video nasties and related novelty goods
ANTHONY MICALLEF - One of the few artists in this show who can actually draw
SPACE INVADER - Parisian nutter who rides round on a scooter and glues mosaic space invaders wherever he likes
MODE 2 - graffiti supremo and professional voyeur
EINE - obsessively paints letters of the alphabet but is crap at spelling
D*FACE - draws a strange ball with wings everywhere and insists on calling it a 'dog'
SIMON MUNNERY - stand up alcoholic comic and writer of nifty philosophical one liners
JO RUSH - makes sculptures out of old metal on a travellers site by the Thames
POLLY MORGAN - Britain's hottest bird stuffer
CABLE STREET COLLECTIVE - young London graffers, designers and illustrators
ZEUS - bizarre Parisian who has devised the only accurate map of the London
underground system ever made

jamie: 12th Dec 2005 - 09:08 GMT

"stencil graffiti artist who likes to be anonymous but gets in the papers a lot"

Tahra: 7th Sep 2006 - 19:42 GMT

Today is September 7, 2006. When will santas ghetto, open again, so I can check it out for myself? Other then his website, where else can I find information on 'Banksy'?

rupe: 17th Sep 2006 - 22:48 GMT

banksy.co.uk or come knocking around brick lane and see what's on offer

itsreallyrubbish: 8th Dec 2006 - 17:13 GMT

Santa's Ghetto is on Oxford street, right next to Tottenham Court Road station.

It's really rubbish, I thought it was a load of sixth-formers trying to be banksy.