VisitGuernsey Hosts Exclusive Preview of Victor Hugo Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts
VisitGuernsey is proud to sponsor Astonishing Things, an exhibition presenting a remarkable selection of Victor Hugo’s rarely seen works at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
Open to the public as of Friday, 21st March, the exhibition features 74 artworks from esteemed European collections, spanning Hugo’s early caricatures and travel drawings to his dramatic landscapes and pioneering experiments with abstraction. As a celebrated writer, artist, and visionary, Hugo’s time in Guernsey played a significant role in shaping his creative legacy, making this exhibition particularly significant for the Islands.
As sponsors of the exhibition, VisitGuernsey has had the unique opportunity to engage with the Royal Academy’s database of 80,000 members - an audience that closely aligns with the visitors Guernsey aims to attract. The sponsorship also enhances brand awareness, with the VisitGuernsey logo prominently featured in the exhibition catalogue, website, and the striking 30-foot entrance panel at the Academy. Additionally, a half-page advertisement in the RA Magazine further amplifies the Islands’ cultural appeal.
Perhaps the most valuable benefit of this partnership was the exclusive hire of the Academy’s prestigious Fine Rooms - an opulent series of grand spaces adorned with unique artworks - to host a welcome event before a private viewing of the exhibition. This intimate event took place on Thursday, 20th March, the evening before the exhibition’s public opening, allowing VisitGuernsey to welcome 25 top UK journalists alongside key stakeholders, including arts, history, and tourism experts, as well as Victor Hugo scholars, artists, and curators.
The event served as an exceptional platform to celebrate Hugo’s artistic brilliance while showcasing the Islands of Guernsey as a premier cultural destination. Journalists from The Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian, and Wanderlust mingled with local experts beside a unique, one-night-only installation curated by Art for Guernsey, in partnership with and commissioned by VisitGuernsey.
The installation showcased three striking Victor Hugo-inspired works: intricate illustrations by Daniel Hosego, evocative lithographs by Oleg Mikhailov - both of whom contributed to Art for Guernsey’s A Renaissance of Victor Hugo exhibition in 2023 - and atmospheric wet plate photography, the same practiced by Victor Hugo’s son Charles, by local Paul Chambers.