Banksy returns to Venice with Banca Ifis and Ifis art ‘Migrant Child’ re-emerges from the water for the 2026 Art Biennale
Migrant Child is one of the very few works recognized by Banksy in Italy, and perhaps one of the most direct. A child standing in water up to his legs, one hand raised, an emergency signal that becomes a symbol. Inside it are deeply relevant themes such as migration crises, children’s rights, and collective indifference. Time and salt had begun to erase its outlines, but not its message. Hence the decision to intervene: first securing it, then removal and restoration, alongside the redevelopment of the building purchased by Banca Ifis in 2024.
The inauguration of the restored work took place during the event Curated by Heart, in the spaces of Tesa 113 of the Arsenale. On stage were Ernesto Fürstenberg Fassio, Luca Zaia and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi, highlighting how the project is not only artistic but deeply social. Behind this operation is a clear vision, also communicated through the channels of Banca Ifis and Ifis art: using art as a lever for impact, not merely decoration.
«This work, both fragile and powerful, speaks a universal language of peace, inclusion and human rights, and urges us not to succumb to indifference,» says Ernesto Fürstenberg Fassio, Chairman of Banca Ifi. «The journey that is completed today demonstrates just how crucial collaboration between the public and private sectors is in transforming a conservation project into a vision for the future, capable of giving back to the community not only a building, but also its deeper meaning.»
It is almost a coded invitation, perfectly aligned with Banksy’s elusive aesthetic: If you're in Venice, keep an eye open. On May 8 and 9, in fact, Migrant Child will not remain still, but will travel on a boat along the canals of Venice, transforming the city into an itinerant and accessible gallery. From 6 pm on 8 May and from 6.30 pm the following day, the opera will travel from The St. Regis Hotel to the Grand Canal, passing through St Mark’s Square and the Giudecca Canal. No white cube, no selective entry: just water, passersby, and a gaze that unexpectedly meets a child wearing a life jacket and holding a lit pink flare.
© Foto: Massimo Listri
© Foto: Massimo Listri
© Foto: Massimo Listri
© Foto: Massimo Listri
The project is part of a broader initiative launched by the Bank, Ifis art, a platform through which it redefines its role in the cultural landscape. Not just preservation, but the creation of meaning. It is no coincidence that alongside the return of the artwork, the initiative “Migrant Child - Rights in Action” is also launched, an educational program developed with Treccani that will bring art and human rights into Italian middle schools during the 2026–2027 school year.
There is something deeply coherent in the fact that all of this is happening in Venice, a fragile, exposed city, balanced between preservation and transformation. Just like Migrant Child. In short: "If you're in Venice, keep your eyes open."