French Minister of Culture Francoise Nyssen and the chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Cultural Authority, Mohamed Khalifa al-Mubarak at the announcement of the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s opening. Photo: AFP
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Louvre Abu Dhabi to finally open its doors in November, with goal of making the world ‘a better place’ through culture
‘First universal museum’ in the Arab world has overcome controversy and hold-ups to tell the stories of world religions and civilisations and spread a ‘message of tolerance’, emirate’s culture tsar says
‘First universal museum’ in the Arab world has overcome controversy and hold-ups to tell the stories of world religions and civilisations and spread a ‘message of tolerance’, emirate’s culture tsar says
The Louvre Abu Dhabi will finally open its doors to the public in November, bringing to the Gulf Mesopotamian artefacts and post-Impressionist masterpieces in the first Louvre-branded museum outside Paris.
Housing 600 works of art, including 300 loaned by 13 French museums for the inaugural year, the Louvre Abu Dhabi is described as the “first universal museum” in the Arab world.
“At a time when culture is under attack ... this is our joint response,” French Culture Minister Francoise Nyssen said at a news conference in Abu Dhabi to announce the November 11 opening date.
The museum has been a decade in the making and is opening five years late.
Among the works on loan to Abu Dhabi are Leonardo da Vinci’s La Belle Ferronniere from the Louvre – which houses the world’s largest collection of art – and Vincent van Gogh’s self-portrait from the Musee d’Orsay in Paris.
Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel of France, the “museum city” is reminiscent of an Arab medina, enveloped by a part arabesque, part futuristic silvery dome that lets in the light in patterns mimicking leaves of the palm trees of the Gulf.
While the Louvre Abu Dhabi will not lack its Rodins and Gaugins, for some, the real heart of the museum is in its narration of ancient civilisations through artefacts acquired by the United Arab Emirates.
The Louvre Abu Dhabi is situated on an island where a branch of the Guggenheim and another museum will also stand. Photo: courtesy of The Louvre Abu Dhabi
The planned opening comes a decade after France and the UAE agreed a 30-year partnership worth US$1.1 billion under which many top French museums will loan art to Abu Dhabi.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to attend the inauguration of the museum, which had originally been scheduled to open in 2012.
The “complex, ambitious project”, in the words of museum director Manuel Rabate, has faced delays in funding and construction.
Workers place the final piece of the outer cladding of the dome structure of the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum in 2015. Photo: AFP/WAM/HO
The decision to grant Abu Dhabi the rights to the Louvre name sparked heated debate in France, with critics accusing the museum of “selling its soul” and questioning the emirate’s record on labour rights.
“Yes, it’s exceptional. Yes, this is the first time a project like this launches in the Middle East. But that’s what’s unique to this project,” Rabate said in response.
He sought to allay concerns about the transportation of the art and the conditions in which it will be stored, in a country where temperatures soar well above 40 degrees Celsius (over 100 degrees Fahrenheit) in the summer.
Director of The Louvre Abu Dhabi museum Manuel Rabate. Photo: AFP
“Their protection is vital to us and we have made sure we have the systems in place to protect them against the environmental conditions,” said Mohamed Khalifa al-Mubarak, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority.
“The museum’s galleries are operated by sophisticated climate controls for humidity, temperature and light, and during installation the works are in environmentally protected crates and cases to make sure they are not affected by outside conditions.”
We [the UAE and France] have a goal that is exactly identical: we both want to tell the world how our history is connected
Guarded by Emirati forces, in coordination with French experts, including civil defence and terrorism security forces, the art is protected by “state-of-the-art security systems and procedures, in line with international standards”, said Mubarak.
The Louvre Abu Dhabi is part of “a major cultural strategy” to promote the city as a patron of the arts in a region increasingly focused on soft power.
About 5 per cent of the overall museum will be dedicated to contemporary and modern art. The rest focuses on telling the story of world histories and religions.
In the gallery of world religions, a sixth century Koran, a gothic Bible and a Yemeni Torah face each other, open to verses that give similar accounts.
“To send that message of tolerance is really important for our time,” said Mubarak.
French Minister of Culture Francoise Nyssen talks to Mohamed Khalifa al-Mubarak, chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism, and Jean-Luc Martinez, president of the Louvre, at yesterday’s news conference. Photo: AFP
A branch of the Guggenheim, still under development, and the Zayed Museum, the national museum named after the country’s founder, are located on the same island.
The Louvre Abu Dhabi’s opening comes as the UAE, which in April announced the establishment of a Soft Power Council, is locked in a diplomatic battle with neighbouring Qatar, accused by its Gulf neighbours of supporting Islamist extremism.
The UAE will also host the global trade fair Expo 2020.
“We’re definitely not this closed-off society that’s putting a massive wall up,” said Mubarak.
“We [the UAE and France] have a goal that is exactly identical: we both want to tell the world how our history is connected. Through culture, the world can become a better place,” he added.