{"id":20625,"date":"2026-02-27T09:58:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T09:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/20625\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T09:58:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T09:58:18","slug":"swiss-embassy-in-london-houses-priceless-banksy-collection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/20625\/","title":{"rendered":"Swiss embassy in London houses \u2018priceless\u2019 Banksy collection"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Banksy\"<\/p>\n

Works by Banksy can be found in the car park of the Swiss Embassy in London. <\/p>\n

RTS <\/p>\n

For 25 years, around 15 works by the elusive British street artist Banksy have adorned the walls of the underground car park at the Swiss embassy in London. The collection, kept largely out of public view, is believed to be the most concentrated group of Banksy murals in a single location.\n<\/p>\n

This content was published on <\/p>\n

February 27, 2026 – 09:45\n<\/p>\n

At the official residence of the Swiss ambassador to the Court of St James\u2019s, Switzerland presents itself in refined fashion. Chandeliers, monumental tapestries by Le Corbusier and works by Max Bill welcome parliamentarians and visiting delegations hosted by Ambassador Dominique Paravicini.<\/p>\n

Beneath the residence lies a very different setting. The embassy garage is covered in brightly coloured street art. Around 50 works decorate its walls and pillars \u2013 16 of them attributed to Banksy.<\/p>\n

When Paravicini took up his post, he was struck by the contrast. \u201cI was surprised by all the colours in this garage,\u201d he told Swiss public broadcaster RTS. \u201cIt\u2019s an incredible asset for our work as ambassadors. It\u2019s something we must protect. And it symbolises collaboration between British and Swiss artists.\u201d<\/p>\n

For almost a quarter of a century, the embassy has kept the collection discreet. \u201cWe have to find a balance between a place of work and an exhibition space,\u201d Paravicini said. \u201cThis garage can never be public. You talk about discretion; we talk about \u2018Swiss elegance\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Banksy\"<\/p>\n

Banksy, in the car park of the Swiss Embassy in London. <\/p>\n

RTS <\/p>\n

His favourite piece? A Banksy inscription reading \u201cThis is not a photo opportunity\u201d, painted beneath a surveillance camera. \u201cI love the irony,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Art-world interest<\/p>\n

Isobel Muir, a curator at Tate who has catalogued the works, says such a concentration of major street art is rare. \u201cWe have never seen so many works by leading artists in one place,\u201d she said. \u201cHere we can see the genesis of ideas that later became world-famous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some murals show early examples of visual codes now closely associated with Banksy, including the use of stencil techniques and the Courier New font.<\/p>\n

\"Banksy\"<\/p>\n

Banksy\u2019s \u201cVulture Capitalists\u201d at the Swiss Embassy in London <\/p>\n

RTS <\/p>\n

Muir believes the collection is effectively priceless. \u201cFew governments would dare to undertake a project like this today,\u201d she said. The works cannot simply be removed and sold. \u201cThey are intrinsically linked to the site. Their meaning depends on this space.\u201d<\/p>\n

One striking example is a large mural titled Vulture Capitalists, depicting 21 Warhol-style portraits of Lenin dressed as a punk. The title plays on the term \u201cventure capitalists\u201d. According to Muir, the work reflects the artists\u2019 awareness that their freedom to create in this setting depended on official permission.<\/p>\n

From vandalism to collector\u2019s item<\/p>\n

Dave Stuart, who runs Shoreditch Street Art Tours, calls the embassy\u2019s collection \u201cthe best in the world\u201d. He notes that Banksy works are rare partly because of their market value: some are stolen, others destroyed or defaced. \u201cOften owners cover them up once their authenticity is confirmed, to protect their investment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Relevant and up to date: the SWIplus app brings you the most important information and news from Switzerland. Download it now<\/a>!<\/p>\n

In the early 2000s, however, street art was widely regarded as vandalism. \u201cBack then it was just graffiti \u2013 and that was a crime,\u201d Stuart said. \u201cToday it is traded and collected. Banksy has played a major role in that shift.\u201d<\/p>\n

An initiative in 2001<\/p>\n

The story began in 2000, when Wolfgang Amadeus Br\u00fclhart, then cultural attach\u00e9 at the embassy, proposed opening the garage to graffiti artists for seven nights. The project culminated in a public event at the end of January 2001.<\/p>\n

\"Banksy\"<\/p>\n

A tribute to Wolfgang Amadeus Br\u00fclhart (WAB) is graffitied on one of the car park pillars. <\/p>\n

RTS <\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lot of discussion and many were against it,\u201d Br\u00fclhart recalls. \u201cBut the ambassador at the time made a courageous decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

The conditions were strict: the artists would work at night, no illegal activity would be tolerated, and Br\u00fclhart would supervise the project. \u201cThere were six or seven graffiti artists, incognito. I do not know which one was Banksy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Banksy\"<\/p>\n

William Tell by artists Snug, CHU and Banksy, in the car park of the Swiss Embassy in London. <\/p>\n

RTS <\/p>\n

One of the participating artists, known as CHU, remembers the week vividly. \u201cIt was one of the first times I could work without the risk of being chased away,\u201d he said. \u201cYou had time to develop ideas. And it was probably the safest place in London.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking back after 25 years, he says seeing the works again is emotional. \u201cIt\u2019s been a secret for so long. Seeing them again \u2013 it\u2019s like meeting an ex-girlfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Translated from French using AI\/amva\/ts<\/p>\n

How we translate with AI<\/p>\n

We use automatic translation tools, such as\u00a0DeepL\u00a0and Google Translate, for some content.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Each translated article is carefully reviewed by\u00a0a journalist\u00a0for accuracy. Using translation tools gives us the time\u00a0for\u00a0more in-depth articles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Learn more\u00a0here\u00a0<\/a>about how we work with AI.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Works by Banksy can be found in the car park of the Swiss Embassy in London. RTS For…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20626,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[101,8679,3931,452,2668,5395,13725,460,334,41,17],"class_list":["post-20625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-switzerland","tag-article","tag-arts-general","tag-beat-best-of-srg-content","tag-connect-me","tag-culture-general","tag-dialogue","tag-inspire-me","tag-multi","tag-production-type-adaptation","tag-swiss","tag-switzerland"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}