A City of London Police sentry box, which hit the headlines last summer after Banksy turned it into one of his latest artworks, will become one of the most popular and photographed exhibits at the new London Museum.
Members of the City of London Corporation’s Culture, Heritage, and Libraries Committee voted in favour of gifting the ‘piranhas’ artwork to the flagship City museum, which will open next year.
The acquisition by the museum will secure the artwork’s longevity and legacy in a spectacular new building and ensure that it is accessible to millions of Londoners, City workers, and visitors.
The piece was one of nine animal-themed works created in August 2024 by the graffiti artist and features a shoal of piranha fish spray-painted onto the glazing of the sentry box, formerly located on Ludgate Hill since the 1990s.
Following confirmation from the artist that it was his work, the sentry box was relocated by the City Corporation to Guildhall Yard, where thousands of people viewed it from behind safety barriers and more recently, to Guildhall’s South Ambulatory.
The artwork will be carefully removed from Guildhall this year and placed temporarily in London Museum’s stores before it goes on permanent public display in 2026.
Anna Melnykova, "Palace of Labor (palats praci), architector I. Pretro, 1916", shot with analog Canon camera, 35 mm Fuji film in March 2022.
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