Banksy - A Piece of Berlin Street Art History
This work by Banksy carries something that cannot be recreated: its original place in the urban landscape and the history physically embedded in it.
The work appeared in Berlin in 2004, painted directly onto the wall of an old railway station. Rather than being created on canvas and later brought into a gallery, it began its life exactly where street art was meant to exist - in a public space, as part of the architecture and everyday life of the city.
When the building was later undergoing redevelopment, the section of the wall containing the work was carefully cut out and preserved. The reverse side still reveals the original bricks, mortar and construction of the station wall, making the physical structure itself part of the object.
The work subsequently entered a private collection in Hamburg, Germany, where it remains today. Its ownership history and title are documented, and its authenticity was confirmed by Banksy at the time.
Now we want to give this work a different future.
Instead of simply selling it to another private collector, CoArt Marketplace proposes a collective acquisition. Participants can acquire fractions of the work and together make possible its transfer to a museum of modern or contemporary art, where it can be placed on permanent or long-term public display.
The idea is simple: many people collectively acquire one important cultural object - and give it back to the public.
Fractional ownership makes it possible for people who could never individually acquire a work of this importance to participate in its story. Each fraction represents participation in the collective ownership structure, while the physical work itself can ultimately become accessible to museum visitors rather than disappearing behind the doors of another private collection.
A fragment of a Berlin wall.
A work created by one of the most influential street artists of our time.
Preserved for more than two decades.
And potentially, owned by many - but accessible to everyone.
