London Graffiti Show Shut Down After Vandalism Controversy

A graffiti show at London’s Piccadilly Circus was abruptly shut down last Thursday for, well, graffiti.

Long Dark Tunnel, which had been open for just three weeks, presented a “gallery takeover” by notable names in the scene, including 10Foot, Tox and Fume. Organized by Arts Arkade and London magazine Big Issue, the show followed a 10Foot guest-edited edition, which featured an interview between Banksy and Tox.

The closure came after a “fuck the king” tag was found scrawled on the walls of the venue and nearby buildings, all owned by the Crown Estate – the monarch’s £15.5 billion property portfolio.

“The criminal damage we’ve experienced is totally unacceptable and is not a matter we take lightly,” Arts Arkade wrote in an Instagram post, announcing the shutdown. While there’s no indication that the featured artists or show participants were responsible, according to The Times, the incident led the estate to put pressure on the organizers to “deal with the damage.”

“It’s the same old story,” 10Foot told the publication, “we’re treated as antisocial idiots and they won’t engage in dialogue with us when we do something widely recognised as positive. Getting bullied by the powerful really makes you feel like a fox being chased by the hunt.”

“We threw everything at this show with nothing but good, generative intention. People have come from all over the country in their hundreds. We raised hundreds of thousands for homeless people.”

Big Issue is the editorial branch of The Big Issue Group, a social enterprise founded in 1991, created to support poverty-affected individuals in the UK across areas of health, housing, employment and education.

The Crown Estate declined to comment in light of the “ongoing police investigation” and in an email to Artnet stating that Arts Arkade were responsible for the closure.