Art by the famous artist Banksy is to be included in a new initiative to document the UK’s murals. As reported by The Art Newspaper, the project will see more than 5,000 murals from across the UK digitally recorded for access in a free public database.

The project is being overseen by the educational charity Art UK with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The three-year initiative will see public works recorded by a network of volunteer researchers and photographers, alongside documenting the stories behind the pieces.

“The location of murals, the circumstances behind their creation, and the materials used to create them can result in this type of artwork being ephemeral in nature,” Art UK says about the project. “Buildings and housing estates are demolished to make way for new developments meaning that many murals have been lost. We will record the murals as they look now, to provide a record if they are removed, defaced, or suffer environmental damage.”

The project is expected to capture Banksy murals in locations including Brighton and Bristol, adding to Art UK’s existing database of the artist’s work, which already includes Escaping Convict at Reading Gaol, created in 2021. 

Murals from Northern Ireland are also to be included in the project, which Art UK says will be approached with sensitivity and community engagement. Throughout the decades-long conflict in Northern Ireland known as ‘The Troubles,’ murals themed on politics, religion, and military/paramilitary forces have served as a source of contention between Catholic and Protestant communities.