THE scaffolding firm behind a viral stunt that celebrated renowned street artist Banksy’s recent Glasgow exhibition has told Project Scotland of the importance of having a bit of fun with your company.
The city centre area surrounding the Gallery of Modern Art, where over 180,000 people visited the artist’s Cut and Run exhibition, was brought to a standstill in late August as onlookers watched on in glee as an apparent Banksy work of art was seemingly created in front of their eyes.
However, it was in actual fact the work of City Access Scaffolding, which was playing a ‘Pranksy’!
Members of the firm’s team – which included directors – were clad in bodysuits as they jumped out of a van to erect banners in the style of Banksy’s work on the company’s scaffolding at 110 Queen Street, across from where the exhibition was being held.
Video footage of the stunt was cleverly filmed by Lewis Gilfillan, of Creative Era, which creates City Access’ training videos. The idea was to give the illusion of it being a raw recording from an onlooker and showed shocked pedestrians rushing to grab their phones to video the event, as well as later laughing and clapping once they realised it was a stunt in honour of the famous artist.
Featuring Banksy’s signature rats and a clever play on words using the City Access Scaffolding name, the banners also featured monkeys lined up with signs reading ‘Access’, paying homage to Banksy’s 2007 monkey stencil on Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street.
“We really wanted to be respectful to Banksy,” Kirsty Allan, director at City Access Scaffolding, told Project Scotland. “It was such an important, valuable, and significant cultural event happening in Glasgow – we didn’t want to give it any negative attention, so we thought we’d wait until it was finishing up so that we could essentially leave a bit of a Banksy-spin in the area after the exhibition had gone.”
Once complete, the video of the stunt gained traction on social media platforms, with particular attention on LinkedIn. The Herald newspaper also featured a picture of the banners in its piece on the exhibition’s final weekend.
Revealing that she had never seen operations director and Banksy fan, Jonathan Allan, as excited when the idea was put to him, Kirsty explained that having a bit of fun is key to the environment at City Access Scaffolding – with it having a particularly positive impact on youngsters making the often-daunting leap from school into the world of work.
“We see how hard it is for young people,” Kirsty said, before explaining the importance of creating a welcoming environment that isn’t overwhelming, with apprentices often coming into the sector having been misunderstood at school. “It’s not what you give someone; it’s how you make them feel. We can all think back to that one teacher or employer who made us feel important and valued at that age.”
The approach to workplace culture has seen new members of staff find ability in themselves to move up the ranks.
One recent success story is a 16-year-old who joined the firm after being a non-attender at school. Despite being told he doesn’t have to come in as early, he has taken it upon himself to get up at 4am each morning to clock in first thing and work with a smile on his face.
“A lot of young people can be really misunderstood – perhaps they haven’t done well in the traditional set up of school, but often an apprenticeship is their time to shine,” Kirsty said. “I’m really lucky to work alongside two other directors (Jonathan Allan and Mark Skinner), who, when they see a talent or skillset in someone, look to nurture it and progress them.
“We really look after our staff and take pride in that.”
Alongside initiatives like the Banksy stunt, the firm also provides assistance to youngsters in the form of how to best manage their money or, if they find scaffolding isn’t for them, help on how to prepare for interviews to move into other trades.
There is also a focus on not being self-conscious over conditions such as dyslexia or ADHD, with Kirsty saying many of the senior members of staff use their experience of speaking up and not being ashamed of it to inspire the youngsters to be open about it if they run into any difficulties in college.
“We really love to use our position to help other people, particularly apprentices and that next generation,” Kirsty concluded.
