Louvre Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, established 2017
A museum of art and civilisations by Jean Nouvel on Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi.
About
Louvre Abu Dhabi is a museum of art and civilisations on Saadiyat Island, in the Saadiyat Cultural District of Abu Dhabi. It opened in November 2017 as a joint project of France and the United Arab Emirates.
Its 23 permanent galleries place works from different cultures and periods side by side, from prehistory to the present day. Highlights include a Bactrian princess from about 2000 BCE, Osman Hamdi Bey's Young Emir Studying of 1878, Paul Gauguin's Children Wrestling and nine canvases by Cy Twombly. Loans from the Musée du Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and the Centre Pompidou hang beside the museum's own holdings. Temporary exhibitions run through the year, and the ticket includes a Children's Museum.
The French architect Jean Nouvel designed the complex as a cluster of white buildings joined by promenades on the water. Above them floats a dome 180 metres across, built from eight layers of metal stars. Sunlight passing through it falls on the galleries below in what Nouvel called a rain of light.
News on Artmena
7 articles from Artmena News that mention Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Louvre Abu Dhabi Sets Sail Across the Indian Ocean in 'Spices and Wonders'
Organised with the Guimet in Paris, Louvre Abu Dhabi's autumn exhibition traces the Indian Ocean trade routes that linked Africa, the Middle East and Europe with South and Southeast Asia, from 14 October 2026 to 14 February 2027.
10 Institutional Exhibitions Opening in the MENA Region This October
From the Baghdad Modern Art Group at Mathaf to Salah Elmur at Jameel Arts Centre and a moving image biennale in the Medina of Tunis, here are the museum and art centre shows opening across the MENA region this October.
Case Study: Why Louvre Abu Dhabi Has Turned to Souraya Noujaim for Its Second Decade
Louvre Abu Dhabi has named Lebanese-born Islamic art specialist Souraya Noujaim as its new director ahead of its tenth anniversary. We look at the numbers, the appointment and what to watch.
Louvre Abu Dhabi Reveals the Art Here 2026 Shortlist
Six artists from the Gulf and India have been shortlisted for Art Here 2026 and the USD 60,000 Richard Mille Art Prize, with works going on show beneath Louvre Abu Dhabi's dome from 11 November.
Frieze Abu Dhabi Reveals Its Inaugural Programme
Frieze Abu Dhabi has just revealed the programme for its first edition, led by a major commission from Lebanese artist Dala Nasser. Here's what's in store at Manarat Al Saadiyat this November.
Why Do Institutions in the MENA Region Model Themselves After their Western Counterparts
Is it time to stop modelling the art scene in the region after the West?
11 Modern Artists From the MENA Region You Should Know
If you only know a handful of artists from the region, it should be these
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