Banksy's Gangsta Rat among artist's prints on show and sale

You looking at me? Collectors are expected to pounce on the prints that are up for sale such as this Banksy work, Gangsta Rat

DUBAI // A gallery will receive 10 limited edition Banksy prints in the coming weeks, displaying them in an exhibition of street art before offering them for sale.

The lithographs, some of which are signed and all of which have an official certificate, will include the artist's classic Donut Motorcade and the Gangsta Rat stencil drawings.

They will be displayed first in a street art exhibition at the Pro Art Gallery in Jumeirah, Dubai in late June, and are expected to be snapped up by private collectors.

"For sure we will sell them all," said Francois Epaud, a curator at the gallery. "We have a waiting list of more than 50 people.

"People are very interested in Banksy, because it's very good value at the moment. If you buy a Banksy now, you are sure that in 10 years it will be multiplied by 10 or more."

Originals by the enigmatic street artist have sold for as much as US$576,000 (Dh2.1m) in auctions, but signed prints often fetch about $10,000 (Dh36,000).

"The prices all depend on whether it's signed or not signed, the number of prints in the series and if it has a special story," said Mr Epaud.

The gallery is selling a Banksy sculpture, a wooden watchtower, which was put on display at the Street Art Without Borders exhibition in March.

Mr Epaud declined to say how much it was on sale for, nor how much he anticipated the 10 prints would fetch next month.

"It's very difficult to talk about money," he said. "The most important thing is the people come in to the exhibition."

The prints come with a certificate from Pest Control, a handling and authentication office connected to Banksy.

Mr Epaud said he had never met the artist, who has managed to maintain his anonymity despite his popularity.

"I know people close to him came to the gallery but I don't know exactly who they were," he said. "We didn't want to ask them directly because they might not like it."

The recent exhibition, which ran from March 9 to 31, is believed to have been the first of street art in the country. It included specially commissioned work by local artists London Police, alongside others from internationally famous artists such as Banksy and Mr Brainwash.

The gallery will hold a second street art exhibition, Paper and Multiples, in late June, although the dates have not yet been fixed.

Mr Epaud said there was a strong demand for street art, with several Emirati collectors.

"At the moment street art is like pop art," he said. "You have big auctions in Christie's. Even if Banksy were to put his work on the street, it would probably still be sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars."