17 April 2017

The long-delayed Paris-linked Louvre Abu Dhabi mega-project is preparing to open this year, directors of the museum said at an event in the United Arab Emirates.

“The Louvre site today is an incredibly gigantic working spot with activity day and night. The team is mobilised to finish, test and operate this museum in 2017,” Manuel Rabaté, director of Louvre Abu Dhabi, said at the Culture Summit 2017 held in Abu Dhabi last week.

Despite declining to give an exact date of the opening of the much-awaited project, the director affirmed on the commitment to open this year, adding that those who visited Abu Dhabi for the first time to attend the summit must come a second time within a year to witness the grand opening of the museum.

“Two nations came together for this incredible agreement and this is an astonishing accomplishment in terms of cultural diplomacy,” Rabate said.

Designed by prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, the development has recently been listed among the world’s most anticipated architectural projects in 2017 by London-based newspaper The Times.

In March 2007, the UAE and France signed a long-term agreement that gives the wealthy emirate the right to carry Paris’ Louvre museum name for thirty years for its upcoming new cultural destination.
 
Bringing all the French museums together to showcase at the Abu Dhabi site was a real internal cultural diplomacy exercise, according to Rabate.

“Every piece has a different story. The pieces that we’re going to have here in Abu Dhabi will ignite the juices of the mind.” said Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi).
 
Abu Dhabi has reportedly paid France $525 million simply to be associated with the Louvre name, and nearly $747 million for management advice, special exhibitions and the loan of artistic pieces.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi will showcase 300 artworks lent from France, along with 600 permanent works from around the world, according to Rabate.
 
The landmark project in the UAE capital will feature a top dome that weighs almost the same as the iconic Eiffel Tower.
 
There will be four pillars to hold the dome up, but they will be hidden within the building, according to the deputy director of Louvre Abu Dhabi, Hissa Al Dhaheri, who noted that the top of the structure will also include 7,000 unique stars designed separately to create a special rain-light effect.

“The Louvre Abu Dhabi is going to elevate the art scene in the Gulf. We are going to be employing international standards. This is the thing I am most excited about,” Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, a commentator on Arab affairs and founder of the Sharjah-based Barjeel Art Foundation, said in a featured clip during the summit.
 
The UAE capital aims to transform itself into a cultural hub and boost its image as an attractive tourist destination. The Louvre will be the first of three museums built on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Cultural District, which will house the Zayed National Museum and the Guggenheim Museum.
 
The launch date of the project was initially set for 2012, but got pushed back multiple times first in 2015, then to the second half of 2016 and most recently to 2017.
 
“I never imagined ten years ago that if someone says: I’m going to the Louvre and someone will ask: Which Louvre? That was quite a joyful feeling and a proud moment as well.” Noura Al Kaabi, UAE Minister of State, Federal National Council Affairs and chairwoman of Media Zone Authority-Abu Dhabi said.


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