Birth of a Museum Exhibition - permanent works from Louvre Abu Dhabi

Oooh almost forgot to post this. Been looking forward to seeing a preview of the permanent works to be housed at the Louvre Abu Dhabi and last week, they released the news. 

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Birth of a Museum Exhibition Presents Works of Art from the Louvre Abu Dhabi Permanent Collection

A collection spanning civilisations, from ancient to the present, is another major milestone for the first Universal museum in the Arab world

Abu Dhabi, 16 April 2013: Birth of a Museum, the first large-scale presentation of the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s permanent collection, showcases 130 artworks reflecting the narrative of the museum. The exhibition is open from 22 April until 20 July at Manarat Al Saadiyat, the art exhibition centre on Saadiyat Island.

Works include ancient artifacts from all over the world – including Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Mali - showcasing the breadth of great civilisations and illustrating links arising from shared human experience transcending geography, nationality and history.

Key historical moments are encapsulated through works such as: Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey’s Ayoucha from 1843 Cairo (depicting the oldest known photograph of a veiled woman); a tile of arabesque patterns from the Ottoman Empire (c. 1570); and a silk painting from Japan’s late seventeenth century, together with a delicate section of pages from the Holy Qur’an and Suras, believed to be from Syria’s late thirteenth century.

Paintings by Paul Gauguin (Children Wrestling, 1888) and René Magritte (The Subjugated Reader, 1928) are in dialogue with works by Giovanni Bellini and Édouard Manet, as well as contemporary art works by Alexander Calder, Paul Klee, Yves Klein and Cy Twombly. All works and artists have been carefully chosen to present a singular and original reading of the history of art, built around several key artistic and aesthetic questions core to the identity of the new museum, designed by Jean Nouvel. Louvre Abu Dhabi and its collection are owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi.

HE Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), spoke about: “We reflect on what has been achieved over the last few years in establishing the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Birth of a Museum echoes Abu Dhabi’s historical and geographical position and we hope this growing universal collection continues bridging civilisations, celebrating diversity and connecting cultures.”

Henri Loyrette, President of the Scientific Council of Agence France Museums (AFM) and former President-Director of the Musée du Louvre, said: “This exhibition is a major milestone in the realisation of the Louvre Abu Dhabi so far as it unveils the admirable and high quality of the art works that will reflect the heart of the future Museum’s permanent collection. Moreover, this exhibition will embody remarkably the essence of the forthcoming birth of this universal museum.”

Jean-Luc Martinez, the newly appointed President-Director of the Louvre, has decided to conduct his first international visit in Abu Dhabi. This visit will be emblematic of his significant commitment to the project, which constitutes one of the top priorities of his upcoming mandate and policy.

A book detailing a significant part of the collection acquired to date is published and will be launched in parallel with the exhibition. This book also tells the story of the creation of the institution and the way in which a collection of exceptional quality is assembled for a museum that will mark the twenty-first century.

HE Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority commented the exhibition saying: “Birth of a Museum will translate the commitment of Abu Dhabi to create a museum collection that will reflect the cultural ambitions of the our city and its leaders.”

As with all exhibitions organised in preparation for the museums in the Saadiyat Cultural District, Birth of a Museum will be supported by a diverse cultural programme of talks, tours and workshops. The first talk, taking place on 22 April at Manarat Al Saadiyat, is entitled Louvre Abu Dhabi, a Museum in the Making. The event features Hissa Al Dhaheri, Project Manager of Louvre Abu Dhabi, TCA Abu Dhabi and Laurence des Cars, Curatorial Director of the Agence France-Museums (AFM), who will explore what makes Louvre Abu Dhabi unique. Two later events in May and June form part of the second Louvre Talking Art Series.

The general curator of Birth of a Museum is Laurence des Cars with the support of a Louvre Abu Dhabi team from AFM and Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority. The museography for the exhibition was completed by architect Jean-François Bodin.

For further information and details of the Louvre Abu Dhabi:

• ‘like’ us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Saadiyat-Cultural-District/294905230524145
• ‘follow’ us on Twitter http://twitter.com/SaadiyatCD: @TCA_AbuDhabi and #LouvreAbuDhabi and #Manara
• visit http://www.saadiyatculturaldistrict.ae/en/saadiyat-cultural-district/louvre-abu-dhabi

Louvre Abu Dhabi Exhibition, Birth of a Museum, to Open on Saadiyat Island in April

Oh wow! We've heard about Louvre coming to the UAE of course but it will not be finished until 2017 (together with Gugenheim also in 2017 and Zayed National Museum in 2016 ). 

But this April, they are coming up with an exhibit featuring works that will be in the permanent collection - "some of which have never been seen or revealed before". This is quite exciting. I try to drive up to the Capital to see Art events but it's been a long time since I last did that. The last was when the Picasso exhibit was at the Emirates Palace - boy, that was years ago!

Here's the official press release:

Louvre Abu Dhabi Exhibition, Birth of a Museum, to Open on Saadiyat Island in April

Growing numbers of local and visiting audiences are following the development of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. 

Talking Art: Louvre Abu Dhabi exhibition in 2009.

The second exhibition showcasing a selection of the museum’s collection acquired to date

Louvre Abu Dhabi will open its next exhibition on 22 April (running until 20 July) on Saadiyat Island showcasing important works of art from the Louvre Abu Dhabi permanent collection, some of which have never been seen or revealed before.

Almost 130 art works will be shown in Manarat Al Saadiyat, Saadiyat Cultural District’s art and exhibition centre, and will give visitors insight into the museum’s narrative and collection ahead of its opening in 2015.

Born of an agreement between the governments of Abu Dhabi and France, Louvre Abu Dhabi will display art, manuscripts and objects of historical, cultural and sociological significance. The museum and its growing permanent collection is owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi. Spanning millennia, the items on display will originate from societies and cultures all over the world, but universal themes and common influences will be highlighted to illustrate similarities arising from shared human experience transcending geography, nationality and history.

Like the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the exhibition proposes a singular and original rereading of the history of art and is built around several key artistic and aesthetic questions core to the identity of the new museum: universalism, the comparison between art works from great civilisations from the most ancient times to the contemporary and the multidisciplinary nature of artistic creation. It will also explore the status of the work of art, through universal themes in the exhibition such as questions of the Figure and the Sacred.

Another milestone for the museum’s ongoing cultural programme is the second Louvre Abu Dhabi: Talking Art Series, (running monthly until the 26 June 2013), a rich programme of public events which explore the significance of individual art works both in art historical terms and in the context of the museum’s growing collection, which began in October 2012. This is supported by an expanding education programme with school and University students throughout the United Arab Emirates.

Birth of a Museum is the thirteenth exhibition held prior to the opening of the Saadiyat Cultural District museums. Exhibitions are now at Manarat Al Saadiyat, the art exhibition centre on Saadiyat Island which has been open since 2009.The general curator of the exhibition is Laurence des Cars, Curatorial Director of Agence France-Muséums (AFM), who is supported by a TCA Abu Dhabi and AFM team of diversified skill sets. Museography is done by architect Jean-François Bodin.

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If you want to read about the construction updates, here's an article from The National "Dh2.4bn construction of Louvre Abu Dhabi to 'start immediately'"