April’s Chamber lunch was very well attended with the audience keen to hear about the proposed Victor Hugo Centre.
Larry Malcic, Chair of the Victor Hugo Centre, shared the exciting plans and vision of the proposed new Victor Hugo Centre. The centre will be an immersive, interactive, and accessible place for visitors and islanders to learn more about the life and legacy of Victor Hugo in Guernsey and provide a multi-purpose space for the local creative community to create, perform, and draw inspiration from Guernsey, in the same way that Victor Hugo once did.
The Victor Hugo Centre in Guernsey will be a gateway attraction for the island and a focal point for international interest in Hugo’s life and legacy. It will celebrate Guernsey’s history and be a confident investment in Guernsey’s future. As Victor Hugo said,
“There is nothing like a dream to create the future.”
The project will take time and support is required with multi-million pound capital costs. Larry emphasized how important these projects are to the communities they are located in, bringing “long-term generational value”.
The creation of the Victor Hugo Centre in Guernsey has the potential to be a transformational project for the island, which promises to bring numerous benefits for the local community and visitors. The Centre is not just about the history of Victor Hugo, but it is also about celebrating the present and the future of Guernsey. Victor Hugo’s legacy is rooted in the fascinating people, beautiful landscape, and dramatic sea of Guernsey. His concerns about human rights, freedom of expression, universal education, the dignity of the individual, and the abolition of capital punishment are still relevant today.
Victor Hugo returned to Paris after 15 years in Guernsey, but he came back a further three times, saying in a letter, “A month’s work here (in Guernsey) is worth a year in Paris.” The Victor Hugo Centre will be a self-sustaining, accessible, and inclusive centre for Guernsey and its visitors, combining a local connection and an international audience. It will fulfil six main objectives:
- Celebrate Victor Hugo’s global legacy and the inspiration he found in Guernsey
- Enhance Guernsey’s tourism, education, and cultural offering
- Utilise Victor Hugo’s global fame to promote Guernsey worldwide as a home to creativity and talent
- Provide a study centre for school groups and scholars to explore Victor Hugo’s life and legacy
- Enhance Guernsey’s historic and linguistic links with France, and
- Complement Hauteville House and link globally with museums, universities, and institutions that share common values.
Therefore, it is important to get involved and make the dream a reality. This is a community project which will benefit islanders of all ages and interests. To find out how you can get involved, visit their website at vhc.gg, and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
The Victor Hugo Centre can only be created with your support and contributions. To find out more about how you can help, please contact Larry Malcic: malcic@me.com
About Larry Malcic
Larry has an impressive background as a London-based architect who designed projects in 25 countries. As a partner and Design Director for HOK International Limited before he retired, he was responsible for the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, the Darwin Centre Phase I at the Natural History Museum, the Enlightenment Gallery in the British Museum, and the British Air Museum, Duxford.
