Louvre Abu Dhabi Exhibition, Birth of a Museum, opens on Saadiyat Island

Associated media

The second exhibition showcasing a selection of the museum’s collection acquired to date

Louvre Abu Dhabi’s new exhibition runs from 22 April until 20 July on Saadiyat Island, showcasing important works of art from the Louvre Abu Dhabi permanent collection, some of which have never been seen or revealed before.

Almost 130 art works are on show in Manarat Al Saadiyat, Saadiyat Cultural District’s art and exhibition centre, and give visitors an insight into the museum’s narrative and collection ahead of its opening in 2015.

Born of an agreement between the governments of Abu Dhabi and France, Louvre Abu Dhabi will display art, manuscripts and objects of historical, cultural and sociological significance. The museum and its growing permanent collection are owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi. Spanning millennia, the items on display originate from societies and cultures all over the world, but universal themes and common influences will be highlighted to illustrate similarities arising from shared human experience transcending geography, nationality and history.

Like the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the exhibition proposes a singular and original rereading of the history of art and is built around several key artistic and aesthetic questions core to the identity of the new museum: universalism, the comparison between art works from great civilizations from the most ancient times to the contemporary, and the multidisciplinary nature of artistic creation. It also explores the status of the work of art, through universal themes in the exhibition such as questions of the Figure and the Sacred.

Another milestone for the museum’s cultural programme is the second Louvre Abu Dhabi: Talking Art Series (running monthly until the 26 June 2013), a rich programme of public events which explore the significance of individual art works both in art historical terms and in the context of the museum’s growing collection, which began in October 2012. This is supported by an expanding education programme with school and University students throughout the United Arab Emirates.

'Birth of a Museum' is the 13th exhibition held prior to the opening of the Saadiyat Cultural District museums. Exhibitions are now at Manarat Al Saadiyat, the art exhibition centre on Saadiyat Island, which has been open since 2009. The general curator of the exhibition is Laurence des Cars, Curatorial Director of Agence France-Muséums (AFM), who is supported by a TCA Abu Dhabi and AFM team of diversified skill sets. Museography is done by architect Jean-François Bodin.