His "thing" is contemporary creativity – the prolific world of artists, gallerists, exhibition curators and art critics. A passion that Thomas Hug, now in his thirties, developed in Berlin after university and conservatoire studies in his native Geneva. Having set out to explore a little-known aspect of 19th-century romantic music, which he introduced to the public via his publishing house, he also came into contact with the visual arts scene. "I was fascinated by its lively, sociable aspect," Hug enthuses. So he and a friend decided to open their own gallery, which rapidly won the approval of top international art fairs such as the Frieze, Art Basel and Art Cologne. After 10 years in the German capital, Hug headed back to Switzerland to develop the W.K. Archipel Collection. "That's when I heard that Palexpo SA was looking to inject new life into the art scene in French-speaking Switzerland," he explains. In 2012 the Artgenève art show came into being with Hug as director. Its key components? Hand-picked galleries of the first order, a large proportion of exhibitions involving public institutions, and a spotlight on local creation. Those will be the hallmarks too of the Artmonte-carlo show, debuting at the Grimaldi Forum Monaco on 30 April and 1 May.
By Tanja Stojanov
Côteweb 2021, création de site Internet sur Nice