Banksy piranhas to find new home in London Museum

Banksy’s piranhas artwork will go on permanent public display next year at London Museum, when it opens its new premises in Smithfield.

Featuring the fierce fish making an aquarium out of a police sentry box, the work was part of the artist’s animal-themed series across the capital last summer.

Nine works, including a rhino mounting a car, two elephants with their trunks stretched towards each other, and three monkeys swinging on a bridge appeared over nine days in August 2024.

The museum obtained the piranha piece after the City Of London Corporation voted to donate it to the attraction.

Director of London Museum, Sharon Ament, said the “only thing better than having a Banksy appear on the walls… is having a Banksy on display inside”.

She added: “No other artist connects with people so profoundly, with such vigour, humour, and honesty than Banksy.

“If you’re lucky, a Banksy will appear at the end of the road in which you live and it’s always a moment when one does.

“Banksy brings art to the streets and it’s for everyone.”

The sentry box, prior to Banky’s paint job, had been in Ludgate Hill since the 1990s and was relocated to Guildhall Yard once the artist had confirmed it was his work.

It will be placed temporarily in London Museum’s stores before it takes up its final position.

The City Of London Corporation allocated £222m toward the museum’s relocation -which is expected to attract two million visitors every year, and create more than 1,500 jobs – and the Barbican Centre.

Ms Ament called the acquisition “a great gift for the people of London”.