The M.V. Louise Michel, named after the French anarchist and feminist, is a high-speed private vessel that has been patrolling the central Mediterranean to rescue migrants in distress since 2020. The vessel itself comes from the French customs authorities and at 28 knots, it is more than twice as fast as the large civilian rescue vessels. The M.V. Louise Michel was purchased by British street artist Banksy. He is said to have painted the 30-metre vessel pink himself using a fire extinguisher.
The motif: a little girl wearing a lifejacket and holding a heart-shaped lifebuoy. It is reminiscent of Banksy's famous "Girl with Balloon". "Like most people who have succeeded in the art world, I bought a yacht to cruise the Mediterranean," Banksy wryly wrote in an Instagram video at the time of the purchase. M.V. Louise Michel sails under the German flag and is supported by Sea-Watch, the German association based in Berlin, whose main aim is to rescue refugees in distress at sea in the Mediterranean Sea.
The collection in our exhibition
There are huge costs involved in running a rescue ship: port fees, spare parts, ship maintenance, crew, travel expenses etc. To support this important work, our exhibition "The Mystery of Banksy - A Genius Mind" makes an important contribution! Each set of the exhibition has its own section on M.V. Louise Michel with prints, photographs, sculptures, video installations and background information. A donation box invites all visitors to support this project financially. We then double all proceeds and donate 100% to "Handbreit - nautical safety solutions", the ship's owner.