Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is to open to the public on December 11, the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi announced on Tuesday.
The Frank Gehry-designed museum will be the largest in the Guggenheim network and the latest major institution to open in Saadiyat Cultural District, joining Louvre Abu Dhabi, teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum and Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi.
The museum is a partnership between DCT Abu Dhabi and the Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation, whose network also includes institutions in New York, Venice and Bilbao.
The Abu Dhabi museum's collection has been developed since 2009, and will focus on modern and contemporary art from the 1960s to the present, spanning painting, sculpture, installation, photography, moving image and new media.
Previously announced artists include Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, told The National their works would be displayed alongside those of artists who have received less international attention.
“They're going to be within that collection, but right next to them, you'll have amazing contemporary artists that maybe, unfortunately, the vast public don't know much about – artists from South-East Asia, artists from Asia, artists from North Africa, Central Africa and the Arab world,” he said.
“The collection itself is truly global. It was imperative for us when we were assembling that collection that it focus on contemporary artists who have not been given the light they deserve, whether it’s because of their geographical location or their gender. We want to be unbiased in that.”
Rather than following a linear chronology or dividing art by geography, the museum will present modern and contemporary art through an Abu Dhabi lens, examining artistic connections and exchanges across cultures. Its galleries will be organised around subjects including abstraction, popular culture, land, language and storytelling.
The building stands at the meeting point of land and sea, and draws on architectural forms from the Gulf. It has a total built-up area of 80,000 square metres, including 11,600 square metres of indoor gallery space and 23,000 square metres of outdoor exhibition areas.
Its 30 galleries are connected by a central atrium. Ten sculptural cones rise across the building, with nine clad in stainless steel mesh and one in onyx and glass. Reaching heights of up to 88 metres, the structures provide natural ventilation and shade, and are designed to improve the building's energy efficiency.
Alongside its exhibitions, the museum will host music, dance, food and other public programmes. It will also support artists through commissions and research, and offer a multilingual public programme.
Further details about its opening exhibitions, collection and specially commissioned works will be announced in the coming months.
