2 minutes reading time | 23rd October 2019
At the beginning of the month (October), Banksy confirmed his involvement behind a new store in Croydon featuring merchandise he was forced to market following a legal dispute with a greeting cards company.
Based on Church Street in Croydon, Gross Domestic Product is a shop that never opens and is for display purposes only, showing a range of “impractical and offensive” merchandise created by the artist.
The range of items on display until the included the Union Jack stab-proof vest worn by Stormzy during his remarkable Glastonbury performances and a Frosties, Tony the Tiger rug.
We worked with Banksy’s team to deploy 18 of our trademark friendly and helpful security professionals around the store to guard the premises and property. Dressed as shopkeepers our team help control the flow of visitors, handing prints to youngsters and also ensuring local people could go through the entrance of the local shops through the queue of visitors to see the artwork.
FGH were the only company to be approached to deliver the Security for this high-profile affair and having seen our unique staff on the ground the organisers behind Banksy were comfortable we could provide them with a bespoke team of ‘happy shopkeepers’ for the store. The accolade is both a credit to the regard in which FGH is held within the security industry, our scientific approach to crowd management and our inimitable and charismatic personnel.
The team have also received a lot of positive comments online:
Plain clothed security at #Banksy‘s Gross Domestic Product #GDP store in #Croydon. Blending in well. pic.twitter.com/J48LcV8t0q
— Evie Breese (@Evie_Breese) October 12, 2019
Props to the ‘security’ at #banksy croydon #GrossDomesticProduct
Not only handing prints to youngsters but also ensuring that folk could get in/out of #Poundland through the queue of visitors.
Yep…visitors to #Croydon ; great, innit?@InsideCroydon pic.twitter.com/0PHLlR5pEu
— Jonny Brogdale (@Govtandpolitics) October 6, 2019
One theory even suggested that one of our team was Banksy!
Security guards were dressed like vendors in nearby Surrey Street Market which was a nice touch. (Aside: is the current theory still that the one with the Bristol accent is Banksy himself?) pic.twitter.com/iYfFxbOejw
— Jonny Rose (@98rosjon) October 5, 2019
Our brown-coated team have since received a message directly from Banksy to acknowledge their great work and to ask them to keep a record of any interesting reactions and interactions that have come up.
Head of Security Amy Stanley said, “It was a really exciting experience to work at the Banksy exhibition and fantastic to see the responses of local residents and visitors to the installations. The team worked really well and got to know the ins and outs of the exhibition in order to discuss opinions with the visitors. This was a very unique job and it was fantastic to be a part of.”
The display came to a close on Sunday 20th October and items from the exhibition are now available to buy on GrossDomesticProduct.com.
