In 2013, the anonymous street artist Banksy organized a month-long open-air art ‘exhibition’ in New York, called “Better Out Than In.” During his residency, a mural depicting a small boy painting the words “Ghetto 4 Life” on a wall, with a butler serving him spray paint cans on a tray, appeared on one of the walls in the South Bronx. The discussions about moving the wall with the controversial street art piece from its Bronx location lasted for years, and in 2024, it finally happened. The process of Banksy wall relocation was entrusted to Fine Art Shippers, who partnered with Chesakl to bring this complex project to life.
Fine Art Shippers Supervised the Banksy Wall Relocation Project
The Banksy wall relocation project was supervised by Fine Art Shippers from start to finish. Chesakl, a New York-based structural steel company and our reliable partner, joined us in this difficult task, covering all technical and engineering aspects of the job. Chesakl was particularly responsible for constructing a metal frame to support the wall and extract it from the building. They also operated the heavy equipment used for the job.
As we have told the New York Daily News, which covered the deinstallation process, separating the wall from the building was not a simple process, to say the least. Many people worked hard to cut the wall around the mural and dig a hole in the ground around the structure to finally extract the Banksy piece. A crane was used to load the wall onto a lowboy, which took it to Bridgeport, СT, and to install it in a designated spot upon delivery.
As a project supervisor, Fine Art Shippers made sure that every part of the mural relocation was executed properly and that the wall remained intact during extraction, transit, and installation. We are now happy to confirm that “Ghetto 4 Life” reached its new home safely, and everything went smoothly. After the frame for the protective glass cover is constructed, our team will also perform the restoration and final touch-up to ensure that the mural stays safe for years to come.
Fine Art Shippers is beyond grateful for the opportunity to handle such an important work of art. It took us several months to prepare for the wall relocation. The process of de-installing and moving the wall was not easy, but we were prepared for any challenges. Fine Art Shippers is actively getting ready to proceed to the next steps necessary to preserve the Banksy mural and looks forward to the new exciting projects. We also want to thank Chesakl and our client for their collaboration and the trust put in our art logistics company.
P.S. Did you know that this was our second Banksy wall relocation project? Fine Art Shippers and Chesakl already moved a Banksy wall in 2019. You will find the details here.