August 31st, 2020 

Banksy wrote to Klemp in an email quoted by The Guardian:  

"Hello Pia, I’ve read about your story in the papers. You sound like a badass. I am an artist from the U.K. and I’ve made some work about the migrant crisis, obviously I can’t keep the money. Could you use it to buy a new boat or something? Please let me know. Well done. Banksy."

Phot​ograph: The rescue ship Louise Michel. Courtesy Louise Michel

Crew on Louis Michel, carrying 130 migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean, is calling for help. 

It has been a huge struggle for refugees to migrate through the Mediterranean. To help them, Banksy has made a generous donation to finance a ship, Louise Michel. The boat has been named Louise Michel after the 19th-century female French anarchist and teacher. The ship is painted vibrant pink, which attributes to Banksy’s beloved Girl With Balloon (yes, the one that was shredded at the auction). Banksy made a decision to fund the boat to diminish scorching judgements towards Europe's migrant crisis. The ship was secretly launched crewed by a team of activists and rescue professionals on August 18th. It is now making its way across Mediterranean Sea. So far, the ship has recess 89 refugees, and now is looking for a safe place to land them. 

Photograph: euronews reuters

The ship was acquired by the sales of Banksy's works of art. The artist took part in the rescue mission in September 2019, when he contacted Pia Klemp, the former captain of various non-governmental organization boats that have rescued thousands of refugees in recent years. Through this event, we hope this disembark will encourage the boundless scalability of art.