Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). For a long time, Louvre Abu Dhabi was the only museum on the island (which no longer really looks like an island) of Saadiyat. The “Louvre des sables” was inaugurated in 2017 and was supposed to open more or less at the same time as five other museums and well before that date. But the financial crisis of 2007-2008 shook up the schedule of the wealthy emirate. Since then, the price of oil has been yo-yoing, but is generally on an upward trend, particularly since the war in Ukraine. Above all, the other Gulf petromonarchies, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have worked hard to launch major investment programs to attract tourists. Two good reasons for the emirate to relaunch its museum district: at least two, if not even three, major museums should be inaugurated in 2025.
Originally planned for 2012, the Zayed National Museum (see ill.) will tell the history of the United Arab Emirates while celebrating the figure of the founder of the federation which gives its name to the museum. The boldly shaped building, made up of five towers said to represent the wings of a falcon, is designed by British architect Norman Foster. Once associated with the project, the British Museum is no longer part of the cast, at least officially. This is not the case for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi which, as its name suggests, is created in partnership with the American museum. Designed by Frank Gehry, the building with equally bold cone shapes will house a collection of modern and contemporary art.
The two new museums should be followed by a natural history museum by the sea (see ill.), made up of very geometric white buildings immersed in greenery, designed by the Dutch agency Mecanoo. However, it could be that another cultural venue will beat the three museums mentioned: a local version of the Japanese TeamLab which will offer an immersive digital space. Truth be told, the Louvre Abu Dhabi is not completely alone. Since March 2023, the gigantic (but everything is gigantic in the Gulf) Abrahamic Family House has been open, which houses a mosque, a church and a synagogue, as a place of worship and cultural center.
Architect’s view of the Abu Dhabi Natural History Museum.
© Mecanoo
The emirate remains very discreet about the opening dates and is counting on serial (probably in this order: TeamLab, Natural History Museum, Zayed Museum and Guggenheim Museum) and massive announcements to create a breathtaking effect. The objective is to strengthen the image of a cultural destination of excellence in the face of expected competition from Saudi Arabia. Tourism has become a priority issue for the Gulf countries which are preparing for the post-oil era. The UAE as a whole is already the 12th most visited country in the world with 28 million visitors, just ahead of Saudi Arabia (but Saudi Arabia’s figures include pilgrims to Mecca). It is difficult to obtain the number of tourists coming only to Abu Dhabi, but what is certain is that the emirate does not want to be overtaken by Dubai which is playing the leisure and shopping center card to the fullest and is not investing not much in cultivation, the preserve of his neighbor and protector. For Manuel Rabaté, director of the Louvre Abu Dhabi: “ If you can visit the Louvre Abu Dhabi in half a day if you go a little quickly, it will be impossible to visit the five museums in one day, thus encouraging tourists to stay several days in the capital of the emirates. »
But the Louvre Abu Dhabi is already showing honorable attendance scores: 1.2 million visitors came in 2023 for the museum and the activities around the museum. 71% are tourists and 29% locals. A ratio that is quite close to that of the Parisian museum. Manuel Rabaté welcomes these good figures which confirm the mission of the museum “to be both a tourist attraction and a civic place for the development of the social fabric”. The top three nationalities among tourists are Indians, Chinese, and Russians. The Russians? Yes, the Russians! Despite the war and Western sanctions, Russians continue to do tourism elsewhere than in Belarus or Transnistria. In 2022, there were 440,000 people who came to Dubai. Since the emirate drowns the Russian figures in the larger whole of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Eastern Europe, but it is guessed that Russians constitute a large number of no less than 2, 26 million visitors in 2023 from the CIS.
The Louvre Abu Dhabi relies less and less on French loans for its permanent and temporary exhibitions. Comprising 6,000 issues (including numerous photos and prints), the collection was enriched in 2023 with two Picassos and a Fragonard (The Puppets). The museum refuses to give the acquisition budget and to comment on the questionable provenance affair, but is more verbose on the future of the collection. “In 2027, when French loans are supposed to stop, unless we discuss it again, the collection must remain universal and we are getting closer. At the opening, there were 60 to 70% loans of French origin and the rest coming from the museum’s collections. Today these rates are reversed,” explains Manuel Rabaté, who is also pleased to obtain loans from other countries, including Jordan, Korea, the Philippines and Mexico. “This diversity is important, explains the director, because all international visitors are delighted to find objects from their culture. » Next year, African visitors will be even happier, because they will be able to discover “ the largest exhibition of African art in the region, entitled “Kings and queens of Africa””.
