Club Med is bringing its Iconic Trident art project into the physical world with four permanent installations at resorts in Mexico, Thailand, Italy and Brazil.
The third season of the project features monumental works inspired by the landscapes, traditions and creative cultures surrounding Club Med Cancún, Club Med Phuket, Club Med Cefalù and Club Med Rio das Pedras. Each installation reinterprets the company’s familiar Trident emblem through regional materials and artisanal techniques.
Created between January and June 2026, the works transform reception areas, gardens and social spaces into informal galleries where guests can encounter art as part of their stay.
From Digital Art to Permanent Installations
The Iconic Trident project began as a digital collaboration inviting international artists to reinterpret Club Med’s emblem.
Its first season focused on the company’s seaside destinations, with work by French artists Lise Mailman and Agathe Marty, Chinese illustrator Jen Du and Brazilian artist Naïa Ceschin. The second season moved into the mountains, featuring Alexia Winterhalter, Yukai Du, Alex Proba and João Incerti.
For the third season, Club Med invited four artist studios to create large-scale, handcrafted installations designed for specific resorts. Rather than appearing temporarily in galleries or online campaigns, the finished pieces will remain at the properties.
Each work reflects the artist’s interpretation of its destination, incorporating imagery inspired by local plants, marine environments, natural elements and cultural traditions.
Mestiz Brings the Yucatán to Club Med Cancún
Mexican artist and designer Mestiz created Opuntia for Club Med Cancún, drawing inspiration from the landscapes and traditional craftsmanship of the Yucatán Peninsula.
The work takes its name from the opuntia, or prickly pear cactus, an enduring symbol of Mexican culture and the country’s natural environment.
Standing approximately 2.5 meters high, the Trident has been handcrafted from woven wicker. Shades of pink and organic forms give the piece a warm, playful character while connecting it to Mestiz’s contemporary interpretation of Mexican design.
The installation is displayed in the reception area at Club Med Cancún, greeting travelers as they arrive at the resort.
For additional destination inspiration, DRIFT Travel’s article on Cancún as a summer travel destination includes more information about the region and Club Med’s beachfront location.
Thai Craftsmanship at Club Med Phuket
At Club Med Phuket, Thai textile artists Ease Studio created Trident of the Andaman, an elaborate work inspired by the underwater landscapes of the Andaman Sea.
The monumental textile combines weaving, embroidery and hand painting. Eight artisans worked on the installation for a month, employing six different handcrafted techniques.
In the composition, the Trident appears to emerge from a coral reef surrounded by color and marine forms. The work celebrates southern Thailand’s natural environment while demonstrating the detail and complexity of the country’s textile traditions.
Guests can find Trident of the Andaman near Club Med Phuket’s main bar, placing the artwork within one of the resort’s busiest gathering areas.
Sicily’s Elements Inspire Club Med Cefalù
French artistic duo Pangea looked to Sicily’s dramatic island landscapes when creating Les Insaisissables, or The Elusive Ones, for Club Med Cefalù.
The installation consists of five hand-illustrated banners, each measuring approximately two meters by 2.2 meters. Every banner represents a different natural element: fire, earth, water, air and ether.
Fire evokes the Mediterranean sun, while earth reflects Sicily’s roots and rugged terrain. Water represents the surrounding sea, air captures the island’s winds, and ether introduces the openness of the sky.
Suspended among palm trees at the resort entrance, the banners respond to changing light and breezes. Their movement turns the installation into an evolving display rather than a static work.
The setting is particularly appropriate for Club Med Cefalù, which occupies a clifftop location overlooking Sicily’s northern coast.
Traditional Weaving Meets Brazilian Color
Brazilian duo Voador Tecelagem created Ondina for Club Med Rio das Pedras, located between the Atlantic Ocean and the forested mountains of Brazil’s Costa Verde.
The artists trained in a weaving school with more than two centuries of history. For the Club Med project, they used a traditional loom to produce a colorful diptych of wall tapestries.
The abstract composition draws on Brazil’s lush vegetation, creative energy and relaxed approach to coastal life. It also includes a visual tribute to Rio de Janeiro and its surrounding landscapes.
Ondina is displayed in the reception corridor at Club Med Rio das Pedras, where the woven surfaces and saturated colors introduce guests to the personality of the destination.
Bringing Local Creativity into the Resort Experience
The project reflects a wider trend in hospitality design: hotels and resorts are increasingly using art to connect guests with their destinations.
Locally influenced installations can provide context that conventional resort décor often lacks. They also give travelers an opportunity to encounter regional materials and creative traditions without visiting a formal museum or gallery.
Club Med has incorporated art and artist collaborations into its resorts since the 1950s. The permanent nature of the third-season installations gives the latest project greater visibility and allows each piece to become part of its resort’s identity.
The initiative complements creative programming elsewhere in the company’s portfolio. Club Med Québec Charlevoix, for example, has incorporated artist-led workshops into its summer adventure and family program.
Behind-the-scenes content documenting the creation of the four installations will also appear across Club Med’s digital and social channels.
Travelers can learn more about the installations through Club Med’s Iconic Trident project page.
