Louvre Abu Dhabi’s next season will move from ancient games and Indian Ocean trade routes to contemporary art and the urgent work of protecting cultural heritage.
The museum has announced its 2026–2027 programme, with four exhibitions running between July and April. Together, they trace how people, objects and ideas have moved across cultures, whether through play, maritime exchange, artistic practice or the preservation of heritage in fragile environments.
The season will bring together archaeological objects, international loans, contemporary commissions and immersive displays. It also continues the museum’s wider focus on universal histories and cultural exchange.
Guilhem Andre, Director of Scientific, Curatorial and Collections Management at Louvre Abu Dhabi, said the programme continues the museum’s mission “to create bridges between cultures”.
“Our 2026-27 programme delves deep into expansive histories of diversity and exchange,” he said. “Each exhibition offers a fresh angle on the connections and universal languages that define our world, shaped in close collaboration with our fantastic partners and for visitors of all ages.”
A season built around exchange
The new season reflects the museum's ambition to tell interconnected stories of humanity through objects, histories and contemporary artistic voices, according to a statement.
The exhibitions will move from early board games and Indian Ocean trade routes to present-day artistic practice and efforts to protect cultural heritage in places affected by conflict, instability or environmental risk.
Lamya Al Nuaimi, director of development, marketing and communications at Louvre Abu Dhabi, said the season invites audiences “to move across cultures, histories and ideas”.
“The museum continues to develop a cultural platform that sparks dialogue, exchange and discovery on a global scale,” she said.
A Board Game Adventure
The season opens with A Board Game Adventure at the Children’s Museum, running from July 18, 2026, to April 2027.
The exhibition explores the role of board games as tools for learning, imagination and social connection across cultures and centuries. It traces the journeys of games, including chess, carrom, ludo and mancala, showing how they travelled, evolved and connected societies over time.
About 30 objects from Louvre Abu Dhabi’s collection will be shown alongside regional and international loans, including early examples from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
The exhibition is curated by Amine Kharchach, Interpretation and Creative Content Section Head at Louvre Abu Dhabi, and Orlane Lefeuvre, Interpretation and Creative Content Officer.
Spices and Wonders: Sailing the Indian Ocean
From October 14, to February 14, 2027, Louvre Abu Dhabi will present Spices and Wonders: Sailing the Indian Ocean, in partnership with the Guimet – National Museum of Asian Arts in France.
The exhibition examines the maritime routes that connected Africa, the Middle East and Europe with South and South-East Asia through the Indian Ocean. Spanning from Antiquity to the 17th century, it explores trade, movement and cultural exchange through spices, textiles, ceramics and other goods that crossed the ocean.
It is curated by DAndre and Claire Delery, curator of the Chinese Ceramics collection at the Guimet in Paris, with support from Andrea Rozsavolgyi, senior curatorial assistant at Louvre Abu Dhabi, Lucie Chopard, curatorial assistant at France Museums, and Fakhera Alkindi, Senior Curatorial Assistant at Louvre Abu Dhabi.
A second edition of the touring exhibition will be presented at the Guimet from May 12 to September 6, 2027.
Art Here 2026 and the Richard Mille Art Prize
The sixth edition of Art Here and the Richard Mille Art Prize will run from November 11, to February 28, 2027.
Organised in partnership with Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille, the exhibition will invite proposals from contemporary artists from the GCC, including citizens and residents, as well as Indian nationals. It is the first time India has been included in the annual exhibition.
The edition is curated by Kamini Sawhney, founding director of the Museum of Art and Photography in Bengaluru. Its theme, Confluences, reflects on how intertwined histories, cultures and migrations, particularly across the Indian Ocean, continue to shape identities, communities and everyday life.
The inclusion of India also links Art Here to the wider season’s focus on maritime exchange. Andre said the expansion is a “natural evolution” for a platform shaped by connections between artists, places and shared histories.
“The ties between the Gulf and India are long-standing and multidimensional, rooted in centuries of exchange, movement and coexistence across the Indian Ocean,” he said.
The theme reaches beyond contemporary geopolitics and into older networks of trade, scholarship, astronomy, mathematics and migration between the Arab world and India.
“That history long predates the modern era,” Sawhney said. “It is reflected in the exchange of material goods, ideas and scholarship, from mathematical systems and numerical knowledge such as the introduction of the zero and developments in algebra, to advances in navigation.”
Confluences is about recognising networks that are “complex, sophisticated and deeply interconnected”.
Shortlisted works will be displayed across Louvre Abu Dhabi’s spaces, including areas beneath Jean Nouvel’s dome and the museum’s outdoor settings. The winner of the Richard Mille Art Prize will be announced at a later stage.
Living Legacies. Protecting Heritage. Building Hope
Also opening in November is Living Legacies. Protecting Heritage. Building Hope, which will run from November 23, to April 25, 2027.
Organised in partnership with the Aliph Foundation, the exhibition will tell the stories of people working to protect and restore cultural heritage in some of the world’s most complex environments.
It will feature artefacts on loan from international cultural institutions and Aliph grantee partners, alongside projections and testimonies presented through a multisensory immersive experience.
The exhibition is curated by Magdalena Ruiz, Senior Curator at Louvre Abu Dhabi, and Amaryllis Maria Georges, Senior Curatorial Assistant, with support from Sandra Bialystok and Bastien Varoutsikos from Aliph.
Talks, tours and workshops
The season will also include curator-led talks, a symposium, film screenings, performances and educational events.
Each exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue in three languages, guided tours, a podcast episode and learning material for children and families. Weekly workshops for adults will also be held.
Existing programmes, including Book and Easel, Drawing at the Museum, the Quantum Dome Project, and Art in Scents, will continue alongside We Are Not Alone, an audio tour beneath the museum’s dome created with international artists and available in several languages.
