Banksy receives Professor Emeritus – Empty Chair Ceremony

Enigmatic British street artist Banksy will be awarded an honorary professorship. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported Thursday, citing the British University of Creative Arts (UCA), which has several locations in the English counties of Kent and Surrey. The award will be celebrated with a gala ceremony on 6 July at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

According to the report, Banksy, who is unidentified, is represented by an empty chair. University of Central Asia professor Terry Burke told BBC Radio Thursday that the artist should be honored for his “human rights efforts” and “his impact on the global art scene”. Banksy is an artist still considered an outsider in the art elite. “But it certainly affected the art world and the public’s imagination, and we want to reflect that in our university,” he added.

Burke told the BBC that Banksy had been contacted through his representatives and given his consent. There was nothing to read about the planned award on Banksy’s Instagram account.