Renoir update

To encourage visitors to the island, and the exhibition, our marketing strategy comprises;

• 1) interviews with Art for Guernsey founder David Ummels with prominent media outlets such as Forbes.com and The Art Newspaper, which began in March
• 2) a range of events, all designed to generate coverage across an assortment of top publications and influencer accounts
• 3) television and radio broadcast which will be activated in August/September

Press Conference at Christie’s

On 11^th July we held a Press Conference at Christie’s London, attended by 20 art and culture journalists from top publications including The Times, The Telegraph, Wanderlust and The Guardian. The event was held in the Augusta gallery, just a few metres from the spot where, in 2019, a local syndicate of art collectors, including David Ummels, bought Renoir’s ‘Rochers de Guernsey Avec Personnages’ at auction. The event began with a presentation from David on the upcoming Renoir exhibition and related strands, which includes an exhibition from local photographer Paul Chambers, a cultural enrichment programme with local children, and the Renoir Walk.

The event also afforded the journalists a chance to speak directly to David, Helen Glencross - the Head of Heritage Services, as the exhibition is being co-curated by Guernsey Museums (as well as the Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny) and Sam Claxton from VisitGuernsey. The writers were well engaged, with most expressing an interest in writing features for both print and online, most notably in the Financial Times and Art Event, which we hope to see over the coming months, and which will encourage visitors to the island.

Family focused painting masterclass

On 24th July we held a family-focused painting masterclass at Art Bar in London. Influencers with young children and a large online following were invited to attend, and were given a chance to study one of Renoir’s works before trying to create their own. Attendees included among others, Passport Stamps, The French Mummy and A Moment with Franca and with a combined following of over 300,000 the event gave us the opportunity to target a young family audience, with the influencers due to push out family-focused content across their channels before the exhibition opens.

Ticket sales

We’d also like to remind you that tickets for the exhibition are now on sale here, and we ask that you encourage your guests and customers to attend what will be a fantastic opportunity to view these Renoir’s masterpieces where they were originally painted.

Group Press Trip and Exclusive

We’re currently finalising the details of both an exclusive and a group press trip, which will take place during the few days prior to the exhibition opening. An exclusive has been secured with Sarah Gillespie, freelance writer for The Times, which will be followed by a group trip previewing the exhibition a couple of days later, with journalists already committed from The Guardian and The Scotsman. Both the exclusive and the group trip will deliver coverage as the exhibition opens, with the aim of utilising the trend of short booking times this year while targeting an audience able to book a long-weekend or brief midweek trip to Guernsey at short notice, although given the exhibition runs for two and half months, we’ll also target families looking to take an Autumn/early-Winter break.

On-island conference

Shortly after the Renoir exhibition has opened, we’ll be hosting a conference at Beau Sejour, on 11^th October. The event will comprise presentations from a panel of experts, including Cyril Sciama - the Head of Musée des Impressionismes Giverny, David Ummels, and specialists in Renoir and Impressionism from Christie’s London, followed by a Q&A. The event will give locals a chance to find out more about Renoir, his time in Guernsey and the impact he had of the impressionism movement, and it will also be advertised as a tempting supplement to art lovers already considering a trip to the island for the exhibition. We’re still finalising the details, which we will confirm in our next mailer.