Birmingham, UK – 23 December 2025: A new public artwork installed beside the well-known Banksy mural in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter has been officially revealed as a collaboration between Ikon, the Jewellery Quarter Development Trust (JQDT), Birmingham City University, and artist Dion Kitson.
The sculpture, which appeared without explanation last Wednesday, has drawn significant public attention and sparked conversation about homelessness in the city. The installation was designed to spotlight the rise of homelessness during the winter months and to encourage support for Kitson’s chosen charity, SIFA Fireside, a local service providing essential support for people facing homelessness in Birmingham.
Homelessness remains a significant challenge in Birmingham. Over the last 12 months alone, SIFA Fireside have supported over 2000 individuals, many of whom were unhoused or at immediate risk of homelessness. During that time, they have also carried out over 30,000 supportive actions.
Created by artist Dion Kitson, a graduate of BCU School of Art, the sculpture depicts Santa lying on a bench, echoing the pose of the figure in Banksy’s original “God bless Birmingham” posted on Instagram in 2019. Wrapped in fairy lights, the piece invites viewers to consider the vulnerability and invisibility of people sleeping rough at the year’s coldest point.
During the first two days the artwork was on display, volunteers, posing as security staff, collected donations from visitors via QR codes. All funds raised went directly to SIFA Fireside, supporting their work with people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. A dedicated donation link remains open for further contributions: https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/7686#!/DonationDetails
David Mahony, Jewellery Quarter Development Trust, said,
“It’s important that our public spaces reflect the realities facing our communities. Homelessness affects many people across the UK, including here in Birmingham. By using the Banksy site as the setting for an annual winter intervention, we can draw on the Jewellery Quarter’s creativity to focus attention on those who need it most during the colder months and direct support to organisations like SIFA Fireside.”
Linzi Stauvers, Ikon Artistic Director (Education), said,
“Birmingham has some great public art, including historic pieces of graffiti. Over time, these works can get overlooked and their social commentary dampened. Unfortunately, this is the case with Birmingham’s Banksy, which is barely visible behind layers of perspex and condensation.
“Dion Kitson’s sculptural response is not only a homage to another artist, but an acknowledgement of their call to action. As a temporary intervention, it aims to amplify a message about the homelessness that is experienced by many Birmingham residents, including children and young people, this Christmas.”
Andrew Kulman, Course Leader for MA Visual Communication and Professor of Graphic Art at Birmingham City University said,
“The School of Art has made significant contributions to public art in Birmingham. From the city’s sculptor and Head of Sculpture, William Bloye (Hall of Memory and ‘Golden Boys’), to more recently, Luke Perry (Forward Together).
“They are joined by recent graduate, Dion Kitson, whose interventions have been appearing across the city. It was an obvious choice to select Dion to respond to the Banksy mural in the Jewellery Quarter – he shares the same guerrilla approach and there’s often parody and satire in both their work.
“Working together with Ikon and the Jewellery Quarter Development Trust has offered a perfect partnership and solution.”
Members of the public who wish to support homelessness services in Birmingham can donate directly to SIFA Fireside via: https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/7686#!/DonationDetails
