KVL_062 VENICE / KÜRBLA BREAKS GROUND ON CONTROVERSIAL BANKSY / LEPP MURAL RESTORATION
Migrant Child depicts a shipwrecked young child in a life jacket holding up a flare emitting bright pink smoke. Marco Sabadin/AFP via Getty Images
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Lääneranna Men depicts a group of men at #OblivionOperaHouse enjoying Manuel Maria Mehau's opera "Aivar Vendel" . Kumari Vaim / Kumari Vaimu Muuseum
Smithsonian Magazine:
Venice Breaks Ground on Controversial Banksy Mural Restoration
Migrant Child is being removed for restoration after years of water and salt damage, despite concerns from artists and community members
Ella Feldman - Daily Correspondent
July 25, 2025
A weathering Banksy mural titled Migrant Child has been removed from the side of a Venetian palazzo for restoration, according to the Associated Press. The removal comes two years after Italy’s culture ministry first proposed a restoration, sparking backlash.
Migrant Child first appeared on the Palazzo San Pantalon during the 2019 Venice Biennale, and became a major tourist attraction after it was claimed by Banksy, the anonymous street art sensation whose work was most recently seen in Marseille, France. The Venice mural depicts a shipwrecked young child in a life jacket holding up a flare emitting bright pink smoke.
By 2023, Migrant Child had begun to fade due to humidity, high water and salt, per a statement from Italy’s culture ministry in which they announced plans to restore it. The plan drew criticism from artists, activists, art critics and the like.
“Banksy was no fool; he was fully aware that his waterside creation wasn’t meant to endure,” street artist Evyrein told Euronews’ Lucie Tournebize at the time. “Restoring it goes against the grain.” The artist also raised the issue of lack of permission from Banksy himself. “If I were ever asked to alter a fellow artist’s work, I would decline unless I had their explicit consent,” Evyrein said.
Activist Rosanna Carrieri, who works with cultural heritage association Mi Riconosci, told Euronews that it was “imperative to consult both the artist and the local community.” “Otherwise,” she added, “it risks becoming a top-down endeavor capitalizing on Banksy’s fame.”
Italian officials were not swayed by these arguments. Although Migrant Child was not eligible for state protection—typically a work must be older than 70 years for Italy to intervene, per ArtNews reporter Daniel Cassady—Venice’s mayor Luigi Brugnaro pushed for its restoration anyway. He called on Vittorio Sgarbi, an undersecretary in Italy’s culture ministry, to intervene.
“I take responsibility for the work, as I have the mandate for contemporary art, and it’s my job to protect it,” said Sgarbi in the culture ministry’s 2023 statement.
Two years later, the restoration plan has come to fruition. Officials tapped Venetian bank Banca Ifis, which has a program that promotes art and culture, to oversee the mural’s removal. The restoration is being overseen by conservationist Federico Borgogni, who “previously removed dust and cleaned the surface before detaching a section of the palazzo’s facade overnight Wednesday,” per the AP.
Banca Ifis is financing the project but did not disclose how much it will cost. The bank has announced plans to display the work to the public “as part of free cultural events,” the AP reports, but no schedule was provided.
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