With just seven weeks to go before the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s public opening, a delegation from the UAE assembled at the Louvre Museum in Paris to deliver the news as well the museum’s messages of tolerance and dialogue directly to the project’s French stakeholders and members of the French press.
Speaking in the auditorium that sits beneath the Louvre Museum’s glass pyramid, the chairman of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism, Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, delivered a personal message to the 400-strong audience that included members of the project team, some of whom have been working for 10 years to deliver the new museum.
“I want to talk to you about why we are all here,” he said, speaking as part of a panel that included the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s director, Manuel Rabaté, its designer, Jean Nouvel, the president-director of the Louvre Museum, Jean-Luc Martinez, the scientific director of Agence France-Muséums, Jean François Charnier, and the organisation’s chairman, Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière.
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Louvre Abu Dhabi
Museum will open its doors on November 11
Louvre Abu Dhabi opens its doors to UAE leaders
Some of the world's most famous artworks will be on loan
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“When I first became involved in this project, I was told by a wise man that everything we do today is for a meaningful tomorrow. That was told to me by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. We are here to change the future and we believe that culture is an imperative fact in that change,” he explained.
“We believe culture makes better people, and we believe culture makes a better world.”
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Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Mohamed Al Murr, former Speaker of the UAE FNC, view the Bonifilius basin, during a tour of Louvre Abu Dhabi. Mohamed Al Raeesi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi -
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Alia Al Mansoori, winner of the Genes in Space competition, look at the Archaic Sphinx while touring the newly constructed Louvre Abu Dhabi. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi -
Sheikh Abdullah views the Epigraphic frieze, during a tour of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Mohamed Al Raeesi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi -
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Alia Al Mansoori and Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, view the funeral set of Princess Henuttawy, during a tour of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Mohamed Al Raeesi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi -
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, left, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed under the roof. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi -
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed speaks with construction workers. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi -
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, right, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, centre and Alia Al Mansoori, centre right, are given a tour of the artwork with Mohammed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, tour the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Mohamed Al Hammadi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi -
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Mohammed Al Murr, former Speaker of the UAE Federal National Council tour the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Seen with HE Dr Ahmed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA), and Secretary-General of the Executive Council (back L) and HE Najla Al Awar, UAE Minister of Community Development (back R). Omar Al Askar / Crown Prince Court. -
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, tour the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Hamad Al Kaabi / Crown Prince Court.
Mr Rabaté explained the new museum’s unique curatorial approach, which relies on loans from 13 French cultural institutions - including the Louvre Museum, Musée d’Orsay, and Centre Pompidou – but uses these to paint a very different picture of human creativity from the one that museum visitors in France and elsewhere have come to expect.
“With a unique global narrative and a vision to explore the history of art in a fresh context, Louvre Abu Dhabi is a place where visitors can come to understand their own and others’ cultures,” the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s director told the audience, which included representatives of the French institutions that will be loaning works to the museum.
Special report: Louvre Abu Dhabi: The museum of then, now and the future
“Its ground-breaking architecture complements a presentation of exceptional treasures that represent a snapshot of humanity’s creativity, and paves the way for new discussions.”
Mr Rabaté and the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s deputy director, Hissa Al Dhaheri, will now travel to London, where they will make similar presentations to the British press and travel industry on September 26.
