As Nicole Farhi’s sculpture of the young Hugo was unveiled at Candie Museum, it was also revealed that £7.5m. has been raised towards the Victor Hugo Centre project – three-quarters of the way towards its £10m. target.
That figure is the trigger for those behind the plan to start its application process with plans to start building work next spring.
‘We’re incredibly thankful to everyone who has donated or pledged their support, and delighted with the response from the people of Guernsey when we announced this news on Hugo’s birthday,’ said Larry Malcic, chairman of Victor Hugo Centre.
‘This moment marks another meaningful step towards the opening of the Victor Hugo Centre, a shared space for creativity, learning and celebration that will be enjoyed by our creative community, schools, islanders, and visitors. It will stand as a testament to the extraordinary support of our island community.’
The last fundraising announcement came late last year, when artist Nicole Farhi gifted her life-size bronze sculpture of Hugo to the centre.
In a birthday celebration, the bust was unveiled at the Rona Cole Art Gallery at Candie Museum yesterday. It will remain there until the centre opens.
‘I’m very excited about it,’ said Mr Malcic. ‘It both puts Victor Hugo in the heart of Guernsey’s cultural community, but it is also fantastic to be collaborating with the museum. This bust is of Hugo when he arrived on the island in 1855.
‘People often think of Hugo as a bearded, grandfatherly type, but in fact, he was in his prime of life when he arrived here, and he had not published anything of significance for more than a decade. Within a year here, he published his most famous book of poetry, Les Contemplations, and then followed it up with Les Miserables. So Guernsey is genuinely the home of works like that. This Hugo is really a symbol of his arrival here.’
The new centre is expected to take about two years to build.
‘I think last summer, we were getting 7-800 French visitors a day,’ said Mr Malcic.
‘And they, of course, all studied Victor Hugo and know him. But he is really a global figure, well-known across the world. We want to promote his connection to Guernsey, so that those people who know about Hugo, know about Guernsey as well.’
It is the first ‘substantial’ project that the Victor Hugo Centre and Candie Museum have collaborated on. There are further plans to reconfigure the Rona Cole Art Gallery this summer, and create a dedicated Victor Hugo corner – comparing the works of Farhi and Rodin.
‘We’re absolutely delighted to work in partnership with the Victor Hugo Centre,’ said Helen Glencross from the museums service.
‘I think it’s the start of things. It’s a really strong partnership, and we’re working together to celebrate the culture of the island. It’s wonderful to have this new artwork by Nicole Farhi and we’re proud to display the bust in 2026 and beyond.’
‘This moment marks another meaningful step towards the opening of the Victor Hugo Centre, a shared space for creativity, learning and celebration that will be enjoyed by our creative community, schools, islanders, and visitors. It will stand as a testament to the extraordinary support of our island community.’
The last fundraising announcement came late last year, when artist Nicole Farhi gifted her life-size bronze sculpture of Hugo to the centre. In a birthday celebration, the bust was unveiled at the Rona Cole Art Gallery at Candie Museum yesterday. It will remain there until the centre opens.
‘I’m very excited about it,’ said Mr Malcic. ‘It both puts Victor Hugo in the heart of Guernsey’s cultural community, but it is also fantastic to be collaborating with the museum. This bust is of Hugo when he arrived on the island in 1855.
‘People often think of Hugo as a bearded, grandfatherly type, but in fact, he was in his prime of life when he arrived here, and he had not published anything of significance for more than a decade. Within a year here, he published his most famous book of poetry, Les Contemplations, and then followed it up with Les Miserables. So Guernsey is genuinely the home of works like that. This Hugo is really a symbol of his arrival here.’
The new centre is expected to take about two years to build.
‘I think last summer, we were getting 7-800 French visitors a day,’ said Mr Malcic.
‘And they, of course, all studied Victor Hugo and know him. But he is really a global figure, well-known across the world. We want to promote his connection to Guernsey, so that those people who know about Hugo, know about Guernsey as well.’
It is the first ‘substantial’ project that the Victor Hugo Centre and Candie Museum have collaborated on. There are further plans to reconfigure the Rona Cole Art Gallery this summer, and create a dedicated Victor Hugo corner – comparing the works of Farhi and Rodin.
‘We’re absolutely delighted to work in partnership with the Victor Hugo Centre,’ said Helen Glencross from the museum’s service.
‘I think it’s the start of things. It’s a really strong partnership, and we’re working together to celebrate the culture of the island.
‘It’s wonderful to have this new artwork by Nicole Farhi and we’re proud to display the bust in 2026 and beyond.’
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