How Abu Dhabi Is Becoming A Cultural Powerhouse
The Emirate is rapidly becoming one of the world’s great cultural capitals
It’s been an impressive few decades for culture in Abu Dhabi, with significant investment and forward-thinking action creating an ecosystem in which creative industries are flourishing. The emirate’s aspirations of becoming a globally recognised centre of cultural talent and a leading regional producer and exporter of creative content is already bearing fruit. In a 2019 poll compiled by metasearch engine and travel agency Skyscanner, the modern metropolis in the heart of Arabia was named the second-most cultural city in the world, beaten only by Italy’s Florence – a city with a written history dating back to 59 BC and home to Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, Michelangelo’s David, and Leonardo da Vinci’s Annunciation, among many others.
It was a significant victory for an emirate that has been determinedly carving out an ambitious cultural vision and laying the foundations for an exciting, dynamic future. Back in 2007, the UAE and France formed a partnership for cultural exchange, an unprecedented collaboration which would translate a decade later into the establishment of the Arab world’s first universal museum, Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island. Esteemed French architect Jean Nouvel was enlisted, envisaging a vast dome consisting of eight metal layers: the outer four clad in stainless steel and the internal layers in aluminium, separated by a steel frame. Complex geometric patterning, created using cutting-edge software, attributes the space with a hauntingly beautiful balance of light and shade, while beneath it clusters of waterfront galleries are mapped out in the style of a traditional Arab medina. His imagining of the building captures the sentiment at the heart of Abu Dhabi’s vision.
“It wishes to create a welcoming world serenely combining light and shadow, reflection and calm,” Nouvel says of the project. “It wishes to belong to a country, to its history, to its geography without becoming a flat translation, the pleonasm that results in boredom and convention. It also aims at emphasising the fascination generated by rare encounters.
“It is rather unusual to find a built archipelago in the sea. It is even more uncommon to see that it is protected by a parasol creating a rain of light. The possibility of accessing the museum by boat or finding a pontoon to reach it by foot from the shore is equally extraordinary, before being welcomed like a much-awaited visitor willing to see unique collections, linger in tempting bookstores, or taste local-style teas, coffees and delicacies.
“It is both a calm and complex place. A contrast among a series of museums that cultivate their differences and their authenticities. It is a project founded on a major symbol of Arab architecture: the dome. But here, with its evident shift from tradition, the dome is a modern proposal. A double dome 180 metres in diameter, offering horizontal, perfectly radiating geometry, a randomly perforated woven material, providing shade punctuated by bursts of sun. The dome gleams in the Abu Dhabi sunshine. At night, this protected landscape is an oasis of light under a starry dome. The Louvre Abu Dhabi becomes the final destination of an urban promenade, a garden on the coast, a cool haven, a shelter of light during the day and evening, its aesthetic consistent with its role as a sanctuary for the most precious works of art.”
It was an opening that demonstrated the UAE’s commitment to cultural progression across borders and provided Abu Dhabi with a shining new cultural landmark – showcasing a dynamic, contemporary Arab world replete with a rich heritage as well as exhibiting some of the world’s most iconic artworks. Today, Agence France-Muséums – which oversees 17 of France’s most renowned cultural institutions – coordinates the loan of artworks to this UAE museum and also provides management expertise.
Abu Dhabi’s cultural vision isn’t, however, focused on ‘importing’ art, but rather about creating a world-leading infrastructure that celebrates culture in all of its diversity; one that places regional art in an international context and creates museums and galleries that embody a sense of place. “The whole museum is about belonging to the space, to the history and the climate,” said Nouvel, speaking at a press conference to mark the opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. “I am a contextual architect. The disaster of the epoch today is the damage of the generic building, parachuted in everywhere, to all metropolises. This building is the opposite of that. It belongs to the territory, to the history. Every sign and symbol of this building is linked to Arab culture. The idea is to have enabled more than the building: to have a microclimate using the idea of the sea and the wind, the breeze. It is a building that speaks of the sun, the sky and the sea.”
For Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT), creating a capital that leverages the cultural heritage of Abu Dhabi while also looking outwards is key. In November 2019, the organisation announced the Abu Dhabi Culture and Creative Industries Strategy as part of a five-year culture agenda, launched under the patronage of HH Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office.
The agenda demonstrates the growing importance of these industries as drivers of social and economic growth and diversification in Abu Dhabi, encompassing heritage, crafts and design, publishing, performing arts, visual arts, as well as film and TV, multimedia, gaming and sports. Keen to capitalise on one of the fastest-growing economic sectors worldwide – globally these fields generate annual revenues of $2.25 trillion, provide 30 million jobs and are predicted to make up some 10 per cent of global GDP – Abu Dhabi is investing both significantly and strategically via the creation of cultural institutions and world-class infrastructures such as Louvre Abu Dhabi; New York University Abu Dhabi; Yas Creative Hub; Bait Al Oud; House of Artisans; and Abu Dhabi Children’s Library, as well as programmes and initiatives of international relevance including Culture Summit Abu Dhabi; Abu Dhabi Art; Abu Dhabi Classics; and Abu Dhabi Talent Development Programme.
The developing ecosystem is proving attractive to world-leading talent and the launch of the Creative Visa Programme – which provides sustainable employment opportunities in Abu Dhabi by enabling talented creative professionals from around the world to live and work in the UAE – will encourage this yet further.
It’s a clear and ambitious mandate with policies, plans and programmes also in place to protect the many archaeological and historical sites throughout the emirate – including its UNESCO World Heritage Sites – and one which sees collaborations with major international institutions spanning the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Berklee College of Music, Columbia University, and Getty Institute.
Existing museums such as Al Ain Museum and the Dalma Museum offer visitors the opportunity to embark on a sensorial journey into the UAE’s national history, offering a glimpse into the inspirational values of the UAE’s founding father, HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, as well as the nation’s rich history, culture and heritage. Al Ain Palace Museum, Al Jahili Fort and Qasr Al Muwaiji in Al Ain also offer insights into the historical buildings of the United Arab Emirates, having been maintained and renovated into museums that form some of the mythical wonders of Al Ain. Through exhibition programmes, events and festivals, DCT Abu Dhabi fuels artistic and intellectual discussion, preserves traditional artistic practices and handicrafts, fosters new dialogues, and facilitates the sharing of multidisciplinary ideas and stories that unite us.
This focus on shaping a dynamic cultural landscape will continue to manifest itself in an array of forthcoming museum openings including Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and Zayed National Museum located on Saadiyat Island. As DCT explains, “From housing artistic expressions transcending cultures and civilisations, to creating vibrant platforms for educational, cultural exchange, stage performances and artistic dialogue, the museums on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Cultural District are poised to become the heart of sustained multicultural exchange between local, regional and international art landscapes.”
The Zayed National Museum, due to be completed in 2022, is set to showcase the history, culture and social and economic transformation of the emirates. Inspired by the life and vision of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Lord Norman Foster, the museum will once again serve as testament to the meeting of tradition and innovation.
Modern steel structures, part of an inventive museum cooling system, are sculpted aerodynamically to appear like the wings of a falcon, an iconic symbol of the UAE’s heritage. Galleries are housed within a mound, whose form is an abstraction of the topography of the emirates, while dedicated performance spaces, including a large auditorium lined with Emirati textiles, allow for a celebration of traditional and contemporary cultural practices including poetry reading, music and dance. Reflecting Sheikh Zayed’s passion for nature, the museum is surrounded by landscaped gardens.
Elsewhere, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, now due to open in 2025, will shine a light on modern and contemporary art, showcasing the most important international artistic achievements of the 20th and 21st centuries. According to Abu Dhabi Culture, there will be “a special emphasis on West Asian, North African and South Asian art” so that the museum “responds to the interconnected nature of today’s art world, where cross-cultural sources of inspiration and transcultural exchange have become the norm.”
A dedicated focus on commissioning will see the museum not just exhibit existing work but facilitate contemporary artistic production too, while a programme of special exhibitions will explore the careers of individual artists and the histories of art movements. As with previous Saadiyat Cultural District openings, a sense of place will be at the heart of the destination. Cone-like structures encircle the museum, inspired by the region’s traditional wind towers in a nod to the emirates’ heritage. Envisaged by award-winning architect Frank Gehry, the cones mark a powerful entrance to the museum; a space that is at once traditional and modern, universal and local.
Photos: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque: Dovi, Unsplash. Cultural Foundation Ad: Ilya Aki, Unsplash. Guggenheim AD, Courtesy Of Gehry Partners, Llp. Zayed National Museum: Courtesy Of TDIC. Louvre: Mohamed Somji. Courtesy Of Department Of Culture And Tourism – Abu Dhabi. Arabesque Pattern: Sharmin Shamsheer, Unsplash.
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s December 2021 issue