After months of crisis, particularly financial difficulties, Villa Noailles in Hyères is looking to turn a new page. The Ministry of Culture has announced the appointment of Hugo Lucchino, 34, as the new director of the troubled art center. Chosen to replace the controversial Jean-Pierre Blanc, Lucchino will take over his duties in October and must quickly find solutions to the financial crisis affecting the institution in the Var region.
Lucchino will leave his position as Secretary General of Palais Galliera, the Fashion Museum of the City of Paris, to settle in the Var and return to the South of France, a region dear to him. He will particularly need to ensure that the two flagship festivals created by this National Center of Art Interest – one focusing on fashion and photography, and the other on design – continue to exist under favorable conditions despite budget constraints. He will also need to maintain high standards of quality and openness without yielding to local populist pressures.
The new director brings impressive academic credentials to his role. Hugo Lucchino studied aesthetics, philosophy of art, and theory of decorative and applied arts at the University of Paris 4-Sorbonne. He learned museology as well as art history and fashion history at the École du Louvre, before completing his education with cultural institution management at Sciences Po. His research focuses notably on "clothing and morality," "the aesthetic paradigm of ornamentation," and "the social art of John Ruskin and William Morris."
Lucchino's professional experience appears well-suited for the challenges ahead. He served as administrative and financial manager of the Quai Branly Museum in 2016, then as Secretary General of Le Signe, the National Center for Graphic Design, in Chaumont from 2017 to 2020. This background gives him the ideal cultural and intellectual toolkit for his new position.
The selection process was highly competitive, with the selection jury unanimously choosing Lucchino over other strong candidates. He was selected ahead of Emma Buttin, advisor to Minister Rachida Dati for performing arts, and Vittoria Matarrese, director of the Bally Foundation in Lugano. Villa Noailles President Pascale Mussard and one of its board members, architect Patrick Bouchain, have been effusive in their praise for the new appointment.
However, one significant question remains unresolved: the choice of artistic direction. The imminent definitive departure of former director Jean-Pierre Blanc, who also fulfilled this role, leaves a vacant position. It is currently unknown whether he will be replaced by a full-time position or by guest directors succeeding one another from season to season.
One thing is certain: Villa Noailles will have to learn to operate without its charismatic but controversial historic leader, who had been at the helm for nearly forty years. The transition represents a major turning point for the institution as it seeks to overcome its current difficulties while maintaining its reputation as a significant cultural center in the region.
