Tickets for Guggenheim Abu Dhabi go on sale today, at Dh70, ahead of the museum’s opening on December 11.
Visitors will be able to plan their first visit to the Frank Gehry-designed museum on Saadiyat Island, the largest in the Guggenheim network.
Its opening date was announced in July by the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi.
The museum joins Louvre Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum, Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi and teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi in Saadiyat Cultural District.
Developed in partnership with the Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation, it will sit alongside the foundation’s museums in New York, Venice and Bilbao.
How much are Guggenheim Abu Dhabi tickets?
Standard adult admission is Dh70, while entry is free for under-18s. Children aged 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Senior citizens and UAE residents aged 60 and above can also enter free, as can people of determination, with a complimentary companion ticket available at checkout. Students at UAE universities will receive free admission, although proof of ID is required and tickets must be collected from the ticketing desk on the day of the visit.
Discounted admission is available for several other groups. UAE-employed educators, and members of the UAE military and Homat Al Watan pay Dh35, while Fazaa and Esaad cardholders pay Dh50. Proof of eligibility is required for the discounted categories, with tickets to be collected on the day of the visit.
What will visitors see at Guggenheim Abu Dhabi?
The museum has been developing its collection since 2009, with a focus on art from the 1960s to the present. Painting, sculpture, photography, installations, moving image and new media will feature across galleries exploring subjects including abstraction, popular culture, land, language and storytelling.
Previously announced artists include Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Discussing the collection with The National in November, Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said their work would appear alongside that of artists from the Arab world, Africa and Asia who have received less international attention.
Al Mubarak also described plans for a wider programme of activities: “It’s really a civic space. It’s a place that brings people together with music, food, dance and, of course, contemporary art.”
How large is the museum?
Gehry’s building covers a total built-up area of 80,000 square metres. It includes 11,600 square metres of indoor gallery space and 23,000 square metres of outdoor exhibition areas.
For comparison, the 1992 renovation and expansion of the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum in New York encompassed less than half that, at about 4,740 square metres of new and renovated gallery space.
Thirty galleries connect through a central atrium, while 10 sculptural cones rise across the site. Nine are clad in stainless steel mesh and one in onyx and glass. The cones reach heights of up to 88 metres and are designed to provide shade and natural ventilation.
Alongside its collection and exhibitions, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will support commissions and research, with a multilingual programme giving visitors further ways to explore the art on display.
Tickets are available from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi website
