The M.V. Louise Michel, named after the French anarchist and feminist of the same name, is a civilian high-speed vessel that has been patrolling the central Mediterranean Sea since 2020 to rescue migrants in distress.
The vessel comes from the French customs service and, at speeds of up to 28 knots, is more than twice as fast as the larger civilian rescue vessels. The M.V. Louise Michel was purchased by British street artist Banksy. He is said to have painted the 30-meter-long vessel pink himself, using a fire extinguisher.
The motif: a little girl wearing a life jacket and holding a heart-shaped buoy in her hand. Reminiscent of Banksy's famous "Girl with Balloon".
"Like most successful people in the art world, I bought a yacht to sail around the Mediterranean," Banksy wrote wryly in an Instagram video at the time. The M.V. Louise Michel sails under a German flag and is supported by Sea-Watch, a German association based in Berlin whose aim is to rescue refugees in distress in the Mediterranean.
Fundraising at our exhibition
Operating a lifeboat entails enormous costs: port charges, spare parts, vessel maintenance, crew supplies, travel expenses and so on. To support this important work, our exhibition "The Banksy Mystery - A Spirit of Genius" makes a significant contribution to each location! Each exhibition set devotes a separate space to the M.V. project. Louise Michel project with prints, photographs, sculptures, video installations and background information. A donation box invites all visitors to support the project financially. Proceeds from donations will then be doubled by us and donated 100% to "Handbreit - nautical safety solutions", the ship's owner.
People who also wish to support the project can do so by clicking on these links:
M.V. Louise Michel
Handbreit - Nautical safety solutions