Monaco Art Week 2025 wrap up: Why does art matter?

At Moravia Yachting, we value craftsmanship, experience, and taking the time to slow down—qualities that art and yachting, at their best, share.

Our sponsorship of Monaco Art Week is a natural extension of that appreciation: A way to honour the Principality’s creative spirit, and the people who help it shine.

There’s something in the light.

There always has been. Artists have raved for at least a century, but this afternoon in Monaco, the light is hazy and honeyed—hot. We’re in the middle of a heatwave, and it shows in the languorous stride of city dwellers moving from shady spot to shady spot. Beneath lush, frothy palms, under striped awnings, and in the hushed, air-conditioned spaces of the city’s 80+ galleries, some of the city’s most prestigious exhibitions are now on display.

This is Monaco Art Week. Now in its seventh year—and held under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II and the patronage of H.R.H. the Princess of Hanover—the event has matured into something far more nuanced than a simple city-wide vernissage—so much more than a traditional art fair.

About Monaco Art Week

“The idea,” explains Louise Gréther, President of the Monaco Art Week Association, “was to promote the Principality as an art destination by coming together as a local group.” The concept brings together art in all its forms: photography, sculpture, paintings, haute joaillerie, and ornate, storied objects. Today, nearly every gallery and auction house in the Principality is involved.

Held during 7-12 July, the event is purposefully timed to coincide with Art Monte-Carlo. It holds a strategic spot on the global art calendar.

“We’re at the tail end of the season—just after Art Basel, just before the summer break,” Louise explains. “There are no more fairs. But there’s so much going on in that one week. Monaco is becoming a destination for culture. It’s always been important here—but now it’s being showcased, put on a pedestal.”

Importantly, this is not a closed-door affair.

The central tenet of Monaco Art Week is to make art more accessible. Tours are open to the public and experts flown in to host private walkthroughs. As Louise puts it, “We’re not trying to push a sale. We’re trying to educate and to show wonderful works.”

Highlights from Monaco Art Week 2025

This year’s participants ranged from blue-chip powerhouses like Hauser & Wirth to intimate contemporary spaces like Kamil Art Gallery. There are old masters at Fabrizio Moretti, and new voices like South Korean artist Minjung Kim, a Monaco resident whose delicate works are quietly captivating the art world.

“It’s a local event with international reach,” Louise says. “Monaco’s a destination for culture, more and more.”

That discerning taste flows beyond the galleries and into the world of yachts.

“It’s the same audience,” Louise notes. “People drawn to yachts often have a sensibility for beautiful objects. For art. It’s not about financial gain—you live with art. Like a yacht, it becomes part of your world.”

It’s also a way to pause and slow down, says Olga de Marzio, Director of Artcurial, one of the auction houses involved in Monaco Art Week. “These days, everything moves so fast, and we don’t always have time to stop. This is what art allows us to do.”

That excuse to pause, to take a moment for ourselves, can make a big difference to our health, says Henry House, Deputy Chairman at Sotheby’s. “There’s a huge amount of joy to be derived from art… People who appreciate art end up living longer, so there’s scientific benefit.

But why does art matter, at the end of the day?

“For me personally, the pleasure you get from art really depends on who you are—what you’re drawn to, what moves you,” smiles Louise. “Some people have a passion for Old Masters, for that rich, fascinating history you can lose yourself in. Others might be struck by a sculpture, a contemporary piece, or simply by meeting the artist and hearing their story. I think, whether it’s your profession or just something that complements your everyday life, being surrounded by art is both inspiring and energising.”

“The people we work with tend to have a strong eye—for detail, for meaning, for the stories objects can tell,” says Kurt Fraser, Chief Marketing Officer of Moravia Yachting. “That’s what makes events like Monaco Art Week resonate so well. They reflect the same sensibility that draws someone to a yacht: it’s not a purchase so much as a way of seeing.”

Minjung agrees. “Art is like another language,” she smiles in a recent interview with Moravia Yachting. “It’s a language that is not written.”

By the end of the week, that pretty Monaco light has shifted; it’s lower in the sky, fading into dusk. Gallery doors slowly inch closed; the Prince’s retinue carries the family back to Le Rocher, while the rest of the city calms for the night. Many of the exhibitions continue on into the year, but Monaco Art Week, having wrapped up for the season, leaves behind a different kind of glow: the spark of inspiration, perhaps, or the ember of an idea.

At Moravia, wrapping up Monaco Art Week is bittersweet. For Louise, it’s a chance to review.

“Every year,” she says, “we try to shake it up a bit. To make it different. And every year, we get better.”

We have no doubt she’ll succeed, but we’re not quite sure how: this year was better than ever.

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