The UAE’s museum landscape continues to expand, with several institutions that were still under construction only months ago now open and new projects announced in Dubai and Sharjah.
Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi and Zayed National Museum opened in late 2025, while Guggenheim Abu Dhabi has now confirmed it will welcome visitors from December 11. Sharjah's forthcoming Irthi Museum has been announced as the region’s first institution dedicated to contemporary craft.
Dubai, meanwhile, has added the Museum of Digital Art to its pipeline, joining the Tadao Ando-designed Dubai Museum of Art announced last year. Located across the country, from Saadiyat Cultural District and Al Ain to Al Dhaid, DIFC and Sharjah Creative Quarter, the new institutions cover everything from the history of life on Earth and the story of the UAE to digital art and traditional craft.
Upcoming
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi: Opening December 11
Designed by the late Frank Gehry, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will open on December 11, becoming the largest museum in the Guggenheim network. The building spans about 80,000 square metres, including 11,600 square metres of indoor gallery space.
Its collection has been developed since 2009 and focuses on modern and contemporary art from the 1960s to the present. Works by internationally recognised figures including Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat will be shown alongside artists from Asia, Africa and the Arab world, with galleries organised around themes including abstraction, popular culture, land, language and storytelling.
Valerie Hillings was appointed the museum’s inaugural director and chief executive in August. She previously worked on the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi project from 2009 to 2018 and will oversee its opening exhibitions, public programmes and final preparations.
Saadiyat Cultural District, Abu Dhabi
Dubai Museum of Art: Opening TBA
Announced in 2025 and to be built on the banks of Dubai Creek, the five-storey structure will be designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, known for the minimalist Church of Light in Osaka and the Museum of Modern Art in Fort Worth.
It will feature galleries across two floors and a restaurant, accessible through a waterfront promenade below. While details of its contents will be revealed at a later stage, it is envisioned to be a place to showcase contemporary works from Dubai’s artists and wider creative community.
Dubai Creek, Dubai
Museum of Digital Art: Opening TBA
Announced in May, the Museum of Digital Art, or MODA, will be the region’s first museum dedicated to digital art and new technology.
The five-storey institution will be built within the expanding DIFC Zabeel District and is designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture. Plans include permanent and temporary exhibitions, immersive experiences, educational spaces and interactive platforms, with programmes also spanning research and experimentation at the intersection of art and technology.
DIFC is leading the museum’s development, while Dubai Culture will oversee its operations and cultural direction. An opening date has yet to be announced.
DIFC Zabeel District, Dubai
Irthi Museum: Opening TBA
Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council announced Irthi Museum this month, describing it as the first museum in the region dedicated to contemporary craft.
Based in Sharjah Creative Quarter, the museum will build a permanent collection documenting the development of contemporary craft in the UAE and wider region, while also focusing on research, education, design and the preservation and development of traditional skills.
The project builds on a decade of work by Irthi supporting Emirati artisans and bringing traditional practices including safeefah palm-frond weaving and talli embroidery into contemporary design. It will sit alongside other planned institutions at Sharjah Creative Quarter, including Qasimi Archives, Sharjah Fashion Lab and Sharjah Design Centre.
No opening date was announced with the museum’s August launch. An Irthi representative previously said during Nomad Abu Dhabi in November 2025 it was scheduled to open in 2029.
Sharjah Creative Quarter, Sharjah
Newly opened
TeamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi
A 17,000-square-metre multisensory experience with several different installations focusing on the relationship between humans and the natural world.
Launched in April 2025, the venue is divided into dry and water zones and features interactive installations that use distinct light, sound and movement to give each section its own identity and story to tell.
Saadiyat Cultural District, Abu Dhabi
Al Maqta’a Museum
Ensconced within the restored Al Maqta’a Fort, the museum launched in April 2025 and offers insights into Abu Dhabi’s early years as a trading post and border checkpoint.
Formerly the site of a 1950s custom house and police station connecting the island to the mainland, it is now an interactive space highlighting the emirate’s social and policing history, with exhibitions featuring vintage vehicles, archival documents and a temporary show on the Umm an-Nar archaeological site. Programming also includes children’s activities and family workshops.
Al Maqta’a Conservation Area, Abu Dhabi
Al Ain Museum
First opened in 1971, the UAE’s oldest museum reopened last year after a major restoration that added new exhibition spaces within its preserved original structure. Located near Al Jahili Fort, its programming focuses on the Garden City’s archaeological and ethnographic heritage, from ancient desert settlements to early Bedouin life.
The renovated galleries feature artefacts from sites such as Hili Archaeological Park and Qattara Oasis, along with displays on the legacy of UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who inaugurated the museum more than five decades ago.
Central District, Al Ain
Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi
The 35,000-square-metre museum opened in November, becoming the largest institution of its kind in the region. Designed by Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo, its galleries trace 13.8 billion years of natural history, from the formation of the universe to the evolution of life on Earth.
Among its centrepieces are Stan, a nearly complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton; a 25-metre female blue whale specimen; and the Murchison Meteorite, which contains grains formed about seven billion years ago, before the Solar System. The natural history of the Arabian Peninsula also forms a major part of the museum’s permanent displays.
Saadiyat Cultural District, Abu Dhabi
Zayed National Museum
The national museum of the UAE opened on December 3, 2025, tracing 300,000 years of human history on the land while exploring the life and legacy of Sheikh Zayed.
More than 1,500 objects are displayed across six permanent galleries, including archaeological discoveries, historic objects, audiovisual material and reconstructions. Highlights include the 18-metre Magan boat, recreated using materials and techniques available 4,000 years ago, as well as objects documenting the UAE’s maritime, trading and cultural history.
Designed by Foster + Partners, the museum is distinguished by five soaring steel structures inspired by falconry, while its 600-metre Al Masar Garden traces the landscapes and environments that shaped life across the UAE.
Saadiyat Cultural District, Abu Dhabi
