Bruno Monnier founded Culturespaces in 1990 and has made it into one of the leading cultural operators in Europe.



Bruno Monnier is the founder of the private company Culturespaces, which specialises in the complete management of historic monuments and museums, the creation of art centres and the production of classical or digital exhibitions. In 1990, he created Culturespaces, which, thirty years later, is the leading french cultural operator internationally.

He is CEO of Culturespaces, President of the Fondation Culturespaces.

>The French Ministry of Culture
Graduated from the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences-Po), the Université Paris II Assas, and the HEC’s MBA programme, and, fascinated by the history of art, Bruno Monnier began his career in 1981 working for the Havas Group. In 1986, he joined the French Ministry of Culture, where he was responsible for the modernisation of the management of museums and monuments (the ‘Patrimoine 2000’ commission) and the reorganisation of the Château of Versailles. Entrusted to Bruno Monnier by Philippe de Villiers, the French Secretary of State for Culture and Communication, in October 1986, the ‘Projet pour Versailles’ mission led to the creation of an independent establishment—the Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum, and National Estate of Versailles—with a new visitor, promotional, and exhibition policy.

>Consulting
In 1988, he left the Ministry of Culture and established Culturespaces, as a consulting and cultural engineering department in Havas.

> Delegated management
In 1990, Culturespaces, inspired by the Anglo-Saxon model in which most of the historic monuments and museums are managed by private organisations, became a subsidiary of the Havas Group, Crédit National, and the Suez Group, which became Engie in 2008. Culturespaces advised local authorities, private owners, and State establishments on how to promote and manage their monuments and museums.
In 1990, he signed his first contract with the City of Avignon for the management of the Palais des Papes, which ended in 2000.

He was then successively entrusted with:
- the Castle of Les Baux-de-Provence by the Commune of Les Baux-de-Provence in 1993
- the Jacquemart-André Museum (Paris) by the Institut de France in 1996, which had been closed for three years, and which he renovated and reopened in 1995 as a venue for regular temporary exhibitions,
- the Château de Valençay by the joint association of the Château de Valençay in 1996 (until 2007)
- the Cité de l’Automobile (Schlumpf Collection) in Mulhouse by the Association pour la Gestion du Musée National de l’Automobile in 1999 (until 2021)
- la Greek Kérylos Villa in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, by the Institut de France in 2001 (until 2015)
- the Roman Theatre in Orange and the Musée Municipal in Orange by the City of Orange in 2002 (until 2022)
- the Waterloo battlefield in Belgium by the Intercommunale 1815 and the Walloon Region in 2004 (until 2013)
- the Cité du Train in Mulhouse by the Association du Musée du Chemin de Fer in 2004
- the City of Nîmes’ three Roman monuments (Amphitheatre, Maison Carrée and Tour Magne) by the City of Nîmes in 2005 (until 2021)
- the Carrières de Lumières in Les Baux-de-Provence in 2012
- the Maillol Museum in Paris in 2016
- the Bassins de Lumières by the City of Bordeaux in 2018

He developed an efficient model for the cultural and economic management of cultural establishments, which prioritises visitor experience, does not receive public subsidies for operating costs, and provides funds for the restoration of buildings and collections.

> A Foundation for children who have little access to culture
In 2009, Bruno Monnier founded the Culturespaces Foundation, now the Culture for Children endowment fund, that combats social exclusion. Culture for Children promotes access to the arts and cultural heritage and fights against the cultural exclusion of certain children who are sick, handicapped, or suffering from poverty and social exclusion.
In 2022, Culture for Children welcomed around 13 000 children in Culturespaces’ venues.

> The restoration of a historical monument and the creation of an art centre: the Hôtel de Caumont
In 2013, he created a new cultural venue in Aix-en-Provence, the city of his youth: he acquired and restored a historic monument, the Hôtel de Caumont, and transformed it into an art centre, which opened its doors to the public in 2015. The Art Centre holds two temporary exhibitions every year and receives 350,000 visitors.
Today, the Hôtel de Caumont has become one of the major cultural establishments in the region.

In 2012, he is entrusted old quarries by the municipality of Baux-de-Provence where he creates the "Carrières des Lumières".

In parallel with his traditional activity of managing monuments, museums, and art centres, and organising temporary traditional exhibitions, Bruno Monnier decided to develop and create digital art centres in France and abroad, with immersive digital exhibitions.


> The creation of a digital art centre in Paris: the Atelier des Lumières
In 2015, he created its first digital art centre in Paris: the Atelier des Lumières, in a former foundry in the 11th arrondissement, which he entirely restored and refurbished. The art centre opened its doors to the public on 13 April 2018 with the immersive digital exhibition ‘Gustav Klimt’. It attracts more than a million visitors a year.

In 2017, he entered into a franchise agreement with the Korean company T-Monet, in order to create a new digital art centre on the Island of Jeju in South Korea: the Bunker de Lumières, designed with expertise by to hold its digital exhibitions. The digital art centre opened in 2018 and attracted 560,000 visitors in its first year. Then, under the same agreement, the Théâtre des Lumières opened in Seoul in 2022.

In 2018, Bruno Monnier and the Mayor of Bordeaux, signed a contract for the creation of a major digital art centre in Bordeaux’s former submarine base, which is called the Bassins de Lumières and will be devoted to immense immersive digital exhibitions. It is opening its doors to the public in 2020 and welcomes 100,000 visitors per month despite the pandemic.

In 2020, Bruno Monnier sign a 50/50 joint-venture agreement with the American group IMG-Endeavour to develop a major digital art centre in New York in Tribeca: the Hall des Lumières, which opens in 2022. He enters into a franchise agreement to open a digital art centre in Dubai, the Infinity des Lumières, opened in May 2021. Having failed to attract a public interested in art history, it had to close its doors in 2023.

In 2021, Bruno Monnier lauches the creation of a digital art centre in Amsterdam in the Cultuurpark Westergas: the Fabrique des Lumières.

In 2022, he launched the Port des Lumières project in Hamburg's new Ubersee district, developed by Unibail-Westfield and due to open in 2025.

In January 2023, Bruno Monnier opens his first digital art centre in Germany in Dortmund, "Phoenix des Lumières", which is located in the premices of an old steelwork.

In 2025, Bruno Monnier announces his intention to step down after 34 years of commitment to culture. He will continue to support the company in its future challenges as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. He will also continue to chair the Culture for Children endowment fund and devote himself fully to his historic château de Boutemont.

Over the last thirty years, Bruno Monnier has turned Culturespaces into a company that employs 400 people which receives 4 million visitors each year. Culturespaces has become the leading private cultural operator in Europe and the leading French cultural operator internationally.

On behalf of the Ministry of Culture Bruno Monnier is Knight of the Légion d'Honneur and Knight of Arts and Letters.