Boletim informativo

2012-03-12

Le Méridien Appoints Contemporary Indian Artist Duo Thukral & Tagra as New Members of its LM100™ Creative Community

New Delhi, India – March 12, 2012 – From the first ever India Design Forum (IDF), Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts today announced Indian artist duo Thukral & Tagra as its newest LM100™ members, selected by Jérôme Sans, Le Méridien brand’s Cultural Curator. As part of LM100, Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra will provide artwork for high impact areas, such as hotel entrances, worldwide as part of Le Méridien’s award-winning Arrival experience. The artists, along with Sans and Mike Tiedy, Starwood’s Senior Vice President of Brand Design & Innovation, will all participate in various panel discussions at the India Design Forum, which is being hosted at the newly renovated Le Méridien New Delhi.  During the forum, Le Méridien New Delhi will also host A New Perspective discussion, the Le Méridien brand’s signature event series, around the topic “Indian Contemporary Art: The Indian Dream.”  Both Thukral & Tagra will participate in the talk, which will be moderated by Sans.

“As Le Méridien aims to become the hub for the creative and curious minds - hotel guests and the local community alike -, the arts are used in surprising and unexpected ways to stimulate dialogue,” said Eva Ziegler, Global Brand Leader, Le Méridien and W Hotels Worldwide. “Our LM100 creative community, curated by Le Meridien Cultural Curator Jérôme Sans, inspires creativity in a relevant and innovative way. With the latest addition of Thukral & Tagra to the LM100 family, Le Méridien is recognizing the importance of India in the art world today.”

Known for a body of work that is truly pop, Thukral & Tagra collaborate in a wide variety of media including painting, sculpture, installation, video, graphic and product design. They eloquently mix high art with low art, design with formal art standards, and ornate objects with everyday products. Their work comments on the globalization of consumer culture as experienced in today’s India and the human tendency to dream.

Le Méridien’s award-winning Arrival Experience has been designed to transform the first ten minutes of a guest’s arrival moment at the hotel, from the entrance to the elevator ride to the guest’s room. It is composed of four signature moments beginning with the guest walking through a piece of high-impact artwork upon arrival designed by a range of LM100 members from around the world continuing with the sensory experience of the signature scent LM01™ created by Le Labo, the innovative perfume studio by LM100 members Eddie Roschi and Fabrice Penot. An often predictable elevator ride has been transformed into a truly Elevated Experience; a 24-hour music Soundscape created by the award-wining musician and composer, Henri Scars Struck. The UNLOCK ART programme introduces hotel key cards as a piece of limited edition artwork, which also unlocks a local contemporary cultural art center by offering complimentary entry. Partners include Le Palais de Tokyo in Paris, The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and The Tate Galleries in London. LM100 members who have designed key card series to date are Michael Lin, Sam Samore, Hisham Bharoocha, Yan Lei and :mentalKLINIK, an artist duo from Istanbul.

For more information, please visit www.lemeridien.com.

About the LM100 Creative Community
Le Méridien has introduced LM100, a group of cultural innovators of mixed generations and interdisciplinary artistic fields, chosen from the fields of art, architecture, cuisine, and design by Le Méridien’s Cultural Curator.  LM100 members will offer their creativity and develop original and interactive programs for Le Méridien hotels worldwide that will transform the guest experience.  LM100 members will curate Le Méridien’s interactive initiatives and propose other established or emerging talents that reflect the brand’s core values. Current LM100 members include Le Méridien’s Cultural Curator, Jérôme Sans; contemporary Chinese artists Chen Wenbo, Yan Lei, and An Xiaotong; world renowned artists, Sam Samore, Joan Fontcuberta, Younès Rahmoun, Youssef Nabil; Michael Lin; Hisham Bharoocha, Lucy and Jorge Orta, and Yasemin Baydar and Birol Demir of :mentalKLINIK; Founder of the Video Art Channel, Souvenirs from the Earth, Marcus Kreiss, wine expert Linda Grabe; award-winning photographer Ralph Gibson; coffee expert Andrea illy; master barista Fritz Storm; Atelier des Chefs founders, Nicolas and Francois Bergerault; French-born award-winning musician and composer Henri Scars Struck; Le Labo founders Fabrice Penot and Edouard Roschi; up-and-coming filmmaker Kiki Allgeier; renowned furniture designer Nick Dine; and Creative Class Group Founder and CEO Richard and Rana Florida.

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1,071 properties in 100 countries and territories with approximately 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, Aloft®, and ElementSM. The company boasts one of the industry’s leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades, and flights with no blackout dates. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

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Press Contact:
Trey Sarten
Le Méridien Global Public Relations
+1 212-380-4010
Trey.Sarten@starwoodhotels.com