Louvre Abu Dhabi to Open in November
By Ysabelle Cheung
View of the exterior of Louvre Abu Dhabi at night. Photo by Mohamed Somji. Courtesy Louvre Abu Dhabi.
The collaboration has not been without setbacks, however. Louvre Abu Dhabi was originally due to open in 2012, then was pushed back to 2016, and now 2017. Critics had lambasted the deal after hearing that a staggering USD 1.3 billion was exchanged in 2007 for the association of the Louvre’s name, and those in the region were confused about whether the institution would simply be a French export, or a true attempt to harness the spirit of Emirati arts and culture. Another concern, surrounding the replication of the seamless administrative flow in a world-class museum, was addressed in 2012 by Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoun al-Nahyan, then-chairman of the TCA Abu Dhabi, who implored in a three-page letter to then-president of the Musée du Louvre, Henri Loyrette, to send more knowledgeable staff for training. As the years passed, skepticism in the project only seemed to grow, even after the appointments of inaugural director, museum veteran Manuel Rabaté, and deputy director, academic and Emirati arts figure Hissa al-Dhaheri, in 2016.
A large portion of Saadiyat Island is set to be the site of the region’s most ambitious arts and culture project, with additional institutions including the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and Zayed National Museum still under construction. With the opening of Louvre Abu Dhabi and its first exhibition “From One Louvre to Another: Opening a Museum for Everyone”—which will feature approximately 145 paintings, sculptures and objects from the collections of Musée du Louvre and Château de Versailles in France—to debut on December 21, the organizing body of the Saadiyat Cultural District hopes to enrich the cultural experiences of those in the region as well as strengthen ties with those abroad.
Ysabelle Cheung is managing editor at ArtAsiaPacific.
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