Our top three international exhibitions: Morocco’s art and culture at the Louvre and more

From a new exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York aiming to answer the question of how we might live more comfortably in megacities of the future to a lesson in Turkish style from the ground up at the Sadberk Hanım Museum in Istanbul, here are the must see exhibitions this week.

Decorative elements from the Medersa mosque in Fez, Morocco. Detail. DeAgostini / Getty Images

From New York to Mumbai: designing the future

By 2030 two-thirds of the world's population will be living in urban areas and most will be poor: that's the premise of a new exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It aims to answer the question of how we might live more comfortably in those megacities of the future, drawing on the expertise of teams of researchers, urban planners and designers from some of today's biggest cities: Hong Kong, Istanbul, Lagos, Mumbai, New York and Rio. Uneven Growth: Tactical ­Urbanisms for Expanding Megacities is the result. The exhibition runs until May 10. For more information, visit www.moma.org.

A lesson in Turkish style from the ground up

Embroidered, beaded or sequined, made of wood, leather, metal or silk: an exhibition of late Ottoman period footwear has just opened at the Sadberk Hanım Museum in Istanbul. The exhibition of 127 items taken from the museum's permanent collection of 19th and early 20th century women's clothing includes boots, shoes, slippers and clogs and reveals a range of influences from east to west in style. It also includes footwear from Central Asia, Iran, North Africa, India and Europe, with some examples dating from the early years of the Turkish Republic. The exhibition runs until May 31 and costs 7 Turkish lira (Dh12) for an adult ticket. To find out more, visit www.sadberkhanimmuzesi.org.tr.

Learn about Morocco’s art and culture in Paris

This month, there are a number of exhibitions in the French capital celebrating Morocco's cultural heritage. At the Musée du Louvre Medieval Morocco: An Empire from Africa to Spain gathers some 300 objects, which include examples of architectural decor, textiles, ceramics and calligraphy, to examine the influence of the Almoravid, Almohad, and Marinid dynasties from the 11th to the 15th centuries. It runs until January 19. Meanwhile the Arab World Institute is celebrating Morocco's contemporary art scene from the modernist generation to new young artists in an exhibition that includes a music programme and runs until January 25. For information, visit www.louvre.fr/en and www.imarabe.org.