Restoration of Banksy's Migrant Child completed. It is now in secrecy, but may soon return to its place of origin

The restoration of The Migrant Child, the street art work by Banksy that appeared in Venice in May 2019, has been completed. The work, now kept in a secret location, may soon return to where it was completed, but this time protected to defend it from the action of water, salt and wind.

The mural, removed in July 2025 by Banca Ifis to restore it due to the progressive deterioration caused by wave motion and saltiness, depicts a migrant boy or girl wearing a life jacket and caught in the act of raising a flashlight from which a cloud of pink smoke is released. The conservation work was carried out by Federico Borgogni, a restorer already involved in other projects to protect Banksy’s works.

The restoration of the work is part of the larger redevelopment project of Palazzo San Pantalon, promoted by Studio Zaha Hadid, which was commissioned to restore the building, destined in the future to become a center dedicated to street art, with the support of Studio Th&Ma. The operation had garnered institutional support from the start from Vittorio Sgarbi, then undersecretary for Culture, as well as the mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro and the president of the Veneto Region Luca Zaia.

Meanwhile, the San Pantalon area continues to be traversed by new urban art interventions. Recently, in fact, a mural appeared near the bridge of the same name, signed by Sicilian street artist Crazyone, a pioneer of the stencil technique. On the corner of the building stands out the face of a child with oriental features watching those who pass by. “I made it after a few days spent in Venice where I will have an exhibition at Spazio Thetis in April,” the urban artist, born in 1990, told the press. “I used the same technique as Banksy, the stencil, and I too depicted the face of a child, but with oriental features. Walking around the city, I realized that the Chinese are buying half of Venice. Again it is a message of immigration, but in reverse. Not the immigration of those who arrive in barges, but of those who arrive and buy the city.”

Pictured: Banksy, The Migrant Child (2019). Photo: Marialaura Gionfriddo

Restoration of Banksy's Migrant Child completed. It is now in secrecy, but may soon return to its place of origin

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