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Louvre Abu Dhabi
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Louvre Abu Dhabi
24°31′58.80″N 54°24′0.04″E / 24.5330000°N 54.4000111°E
The Louvre Abu Dhabi (Arabic: اللوفر أبوظبي, romanized: al-lūfr ʔabū ẓaby; French: Louvre Abou Dabi) is an art museum located on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It runs under an agreement between the UAE and France, signed in March 2007, that allows it to use the Louvre's name until 2047, and has been described by the Louvre as "France's largest cultural project abroad." It is approximately 24,000 square metres (260,000 sq ft) in size, with 8,000 square metres (86,000 sq ft) of galleries, making it the largest art museum in the Arabian Peninsula. Artworks from around the world are showcased at the museum, with stated intent to bridge the gap between Eastern and Western art. Louvre Abu Dhabi is one of the first completed projects of the Saadiyat Cultural District, which Abu Dhabi intends to develop into "a leading destination for art, history and culture."
By 2019, the Louvre Abu Dhabi had already attracted 2 million visitors, making it the most visited museum in the Arab world.
The museum is part of a US$27 billion tourist and cultural development for Saadiyat Island, planned to house a cluster of world-class cultural assets.
In addition to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, these are to include: the Zayed National Museum, on a design by Foster and Partners; the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi contemporary arts museum by Frank Gehry, expected to be the world's largest Guggenheim; a performing arts centre designed by Dame Zaha Hadid; a maritime museum with concept design by Tadao Ando; and a number of arts pavilions. The Abrahamic Family House was later added to the cluster, with completion expected in 2022.
In 2005 the United Arab Emirates put forward to the French government the idea of creating a museum in the Emirates bearing the name of the Louvre. Discussions were initiated in June 2005, when an Abu Dhabi delegation led by Sultan bin Tahnoon al-Nahyan, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage visited Paris and met counterparts at the Louvre. A month later, another delegation including Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, then Minister of Information and Culture of the United Arab Emirates, discussed the project with interlocutors in the French government, including Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres. Also in the summer of 2005, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan sent a letter about the project to France's president Jacques Chirac. Formal negotiations on the project between the two countries started in the summer of 2006.
Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi authorities in 2006 selected Jean Nouvel, known among other projects for having designed the Arab World Institute in Paris, as the building's architect. They initially commissioned his firm to design a generic museum of classical art or civilisation, without specific reference to the Louvre while discussions with the French authorities were still ongoing. The choice of Nouvel had been first suggested by Thomas Krens, then the director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and adviser to Abu Dhabi on the development of Saadiyat Island.
The negotiations and the project itself were publicly revealed by French daily Le Monde in September 2006. The project initially generated controversy, including an op-ed and petition against it by curators Françoise Cachin, Jean Clair and Roland Recht.
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Louvre Abu Dhabi
24°31′58.80″N 54°24′0.04″E / 24.5330000°N 54.4000111°E
The Louvre Abu Dhabi (Arabic: اللوفر أبوظبي, romanized: al-lūfr ʔabū ẓaby; French: Louvre Abou Dabi) is an art museum located on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It runs under an agreement between the UAE and France, signed in March 2007, that allows it to use the Louvre's name until 2047, and has been described by the Louvre as "France's largest cultural project abroad." It is approximately 24,000 square metres (260,000 sq ft) in size, with 8,000 square metres (86,000 sq ft) of galleries, making it the largest art museum in the Arabian Peninsula. Artworks from around the world are showcased at the museum, with stated intent to bridge the gap between Eastern and Western art. Louvre Abu Dhabi is one of the first completed projects of the Saadiyat Cultural District, which Abu Dhabi intends to develop into "a leading destination for art, history and culture."
By 2019, the Louvre Abu Dhabi had already attracted 2 million visitors, making it the most visited museum in the Arab world.
The museum is part of a US$27 billion tourist and cultural development for Saadiyat Island, planned to house a cluster of world-class cultural assets.
In addition to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, these are to include: the Zayed National Museum, on a design by Foster and Partners; the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi contemporary arts museum by Frank Gehry, expected to be the world's largest Guggenheim; a performing arts centre designed by Dame Zaha Hadid; a maritime museum with concept design by Tadao Ando; and a number of arts pavilions. The Abrahamic Family House was later added to the cluster, with completion expected in 2022.
In 2005 the United Arab Emirates put forward to the French government the idea of creating a museum in the Emirates bearing the name of the Louvre. Discussions were initiated in June 2005, when an Abu Dhabi delegation led by Sultan bin Tahnoon al-Nahyan, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage visited Paris and met counterparts at the Louvre. A month later, another delegation including Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, then Minister of Information and Culture of the United Arab Emirates, discussed the project with interlocutors in the French government, including Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres. Also in the summer of 2005, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan sent a letter about the project to France's president Jacques Chirac. Formal negotiations on the project between the two countries started in the summer of 2006.
Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi authorities in 2006 selected Jean Nouvel, known among other projects for having designed the Arab World Institute in Paris, as the building's architect. They initially commissioned his firm to design a generic museum of classical art or civilisation, without specific reference to the Louvre while discussions with the French authorities were still ongoing. The choice of Nouvel had been first suggested by Thomas Krens, then the director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and adviser to Abu Dhabi on the development of Saadiyat Island.
The negotiations and the project itself were publicly revealed by French daily Le Monde in September 2006. The project initially generated controversy, including an op-ed and petition against it by curators Françoise Cachin, Jean Clair and Roland Recht.
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