In its commitment to deliver relevant experiences that emotionally connect, Eva Ziegler, senior vice president, Le Méridien Brand has announced the appointment of Jérôme Sans, an acclaimed, non-traditional innovator within the art world, as cultural curator. Jérôme Sans is responsible for curating the brand initiatives and forging partnerships with cultural institutions around the globe, targeting the creative guest to bring alive the newly-defined brand positioning of chic, culture, discovery in a credible and authentic way.

The first example of this non-traditional approach was the First Night interactive artistic event series, using new Le Méridien hotel openings as the platform. Jérôme Sans was responsible for curating First Night, designed to showcase large-scale, public arts installations held at Le Méridien hotels in San Francisco and Shanghai in late 2006. First Night served as the brand’s global re-launch communicative platform, following the acquisition by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. in November 2005. The First Night events series will continue in 2007 and 2008 with Le Méridien hotels in Bangkok and Dallas among others.

Jérôme Sans continues to curate artistic experiences, initiatives and partners for the brand with Unlock Art, the next major global initiative which guests will be able to experience from June this year. Unlock Art is an innovative programme that provides access to local contemporary cultural institutions for Le Méridien hotel guests on presentation of their artist-designed key card, itself a piece of art by a leading contemporary artist. Unlock Art is aimed at awakening the guests’ cultural curiosity.

Jérôme Sans, co-founder of Paris’ acclaimed Palais de Tokyo, Site for Contemporary Art Creation achieved a devout international following as an independent curator. Currently the director of programme at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, England, Sans is an art critic, author, musician, and arts provocateur.