Overview

• On the night of July 23–24, conservators detached the wall section bearing Banksy’s 2019 “The Migrant Child” from Palazzo San Pantalon in Venice and moved it to a Mestre laboratory.
• Restorer Federico Borgogni will perform final conservation steps including selective removal of degraded areas, mounting the panel on a new support, and subtle inpainting to preserve the work’s authenticity.
• This phase follows nearly two months of initial stabilization since June 3, which involved depowdering, surface and deep consolidation, and cleaning after moisture had compromised about 30 percent of the mural.
• Banca Ifis purchased the building in 2024 to house its Venetian headquarters and integrated the restoration into its Ifis art program under the oversight of heritage authorities.
• Officials have yet to decide whether the mural will return to its original canal-facing façade once conservation is complete.