Hasta La Ideas

Well here’s a new one. The Australian hotel chain, Art Series Hotels, which features respected art throughout its hallways and in its rooms, has launched a promotion called Steal Banksy. In it, they’re encouraging people to swipe the Banksy they have in their collection, entitled “No Ball Games” and estimated to be worth somewhere between $15,000 to $20,000, hidden somewhere in one of their three hotels. “Find the art and try and steal it,” they write. “If you don’t get caught it’s yours to keep. If you do get caught then back up on the wall it goes.” The promotional aspect of it, beyond the publicity of course, is that the fun-to-read terms and conditions (pdf) state that you’re required to book a night’s stay should you discover the hidden piece and want to keep it. However, we’re curious as to why, if you’re going to be plan a heist in the first place, why bother following a company’s rules and regulations, something we’re fairly sure very few legitimate art thieves do themselves? And, clever marketing or not, we’d really like to know what the museum world thinks about the glorifying of art theft. Whatever the case or potential controversy, should you want to try your hand at it, the Banksy has been hung and you now have until January 15th to find it.

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