{"id":35387,"date":"2025-07-25T03:56:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T03:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/35387\/"},"modified":"2025-07-25T03:56:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T03:56:10","slug":"banksys-migrant-child-mural-removed-from-venice-for-restoration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/35387\/","title":{"rendered":"Banksy\u2019s\u00a0Migrant Child\u00a0Mural Removed From Venice for Restoration"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tA fading Banksy<\/a> mural in Venice<\/a> has been removed from the side of a palazzo for restoration, according to\u00a0The Associated Press<\/a>,\u00a0two years after officials first sparked debate by introducing the unconventional option. <\/p>\n

\n\tTitled\u00a0Migrant Child<\/a>, the piece shows a child in a lifejacket holding a pink smoke flare. It appeared without notice on the Palazzo San Pantalon during the 2019 Venice Biennale and was later claimed by Banksy, becoming an unofficial tourist attraction along the Rio di San Pantalon.<\/p>\n

\n\tBy 2023, water damage and salt exposure had begun eroding the mural, prompting Italy\u2019s culture ministry to propose a restoration, and drawing criticism from artists, activists, and even some art historians. \u201cBanksy was no fool,\u201d the street artist Evyrein told\u00a0Euronews\u00a0at the time. \u201cHe was fully aware that his waterside creation wasn\u2019t meant to endure. Restoring it goes against the grain.\u201d Others called for consultation with the artist or local community before intervening, arguing the work\u2019s decay was part of its meaning.<\/p>\n

\t\tRelated Articles<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A<\/p>\n

\n\tThose warnings went unheeded. Late Wednesday night, a conservation team led by Federico Borgogni removed a section of the palazzo\u2019s wall where the mural was painted. The project was financed by Banca Ifis, a Venice-based bank that promotes art and culture, which said it consulted with people \u201cclose to\u201d Banksy but did not confirm direct permission. The bank plans to display the work at free cultural events after restoration, though no date or cost has been made public.<\/p>\n

\n\tDespite not qualifying for state protection\u2014Italy typically only intervenes on behalf of artworks over 70 years old\u2014the mural\u00a0received special attention<\/a>\u00a0after lobbying from Venice\u2019s mayor and the Veneto region\u2019s president. Culture ministry undersecretary Vittorio Sgarbi took credit for securing funding in 2023, stating at the time: \u201cWe are not interested in whether the author is alive nor whether he gives us consent\u2026 It is my job to protect [contemporary art].\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhether\u00a0Migrant Child\u00a0needed protection, or was already doing its job by slowly vanishing, remains unresolved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A fading Banksy mural in Venice has been removed from the side of a palazzo for restoration, according…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35388,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[228,226,227,28942,229,88,15741],"class_list":{"0":"post-35387","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-banksy","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-venice"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}