Artistic Wealth. United Arab Emirates

Artistic Wealth. United Arab Emirates

In the past decade, the Gulf Emirates have taken bold steps to break the image of a region defined solely by oil, desert, skyscrapers, and luxury hotels, introducing vibrant hubs of contemporary art and culture. Here’s a glimpse into some of the artistic centers that showcase modernity and progress alongside culture and tradition.

The United Arab Emirates also opens a window into a new world of local and international art through museums, galleries, and annual art fairs.

Investment in art is a strategic matter for the leaders of the UAE, who seek to position the union not only as a financial business hub but also as a cultural center. The country’s vast wealth allowed them to invest, in the early 2000s, significant amounts in building museums and developing culture and art, with the goal of branding their country as an international art center that promotes values of progress, innovation, broad horizons, tolerance, and coexistence. As part of this initiative, in 2009, the UAE became the first country from the Persian Gulf to present a permanent pavilion at the Venice Biennale—a prestigious international contemporary art exhibition.

Out of the seven emirates that make up the union, three main ones—Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah—joined forces in a shared vision to create a rich art scene for both the local audience and tourists. Each has tailored its artistic approach to match its leadership and character: Abu Dhabi, the largest emirate, focused on developing museums and international partnerships; Dubai, a cosmopolitan emirate and global business and financial center, chose to be associated with art commerce; and Sharjah, the third largest, mainly focuses on local Islamic culture and art. Here’s an overview of the art hubs worth exploring.

Louvre Abu Dhabi

The largest museum in the Arabian Peninsula is located in the Cultural District on the artificial Saadiyat Island, covering 64,000 square meters. It opened in 2017, about a decade after the signing of a cooperation agreement between the French government and Abu Dhabi. As part of the agreement to use the “Louvre” name for thirty years, Abu Dhabi paid France approximately $525 million, along with an additional $747 million for borrowing masterpieces from the Louvre’s collection in Paris and receiving professional management assistance for twenty years.

The museum’s building, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, is considered an architectural masterpiece. It is surrounded by water channels, creating the illusion that it floats on the sea. Above the structure rests a massive dome with a diameter of 180 meters and a weight of 7,000 tons. The dome is composed of Islamic motifs (mashrabiya), through which sunlight filters, creating effects of a starry sky and a “rain of light” in the form of droplets dripping down into the building.

The museum is divided into 12 galleries arranged chronologically, from prehistoric times to contemporary art. One of the main messages the museum seeks to convey is fostering a dialogue between cultures and civilizations, combining works from the East and the West, from different religions and historical periods. In its various exhibitions, visitors can find, for example, a Jewish tombstone from France dating back to 1250, displayed alongside Muslim and Christian tombstones; a page from the Quran next to other ancient texts, including Torah scrolls from Yemen. The museum features a permanent collection and about 300 artworks loaned from 13 French institutions, including works by Leonardo da Vinci, Henri Matisse, Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, and more.

This branch of the Louvre is part of a series of cultural buildings planned for development soon in Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, all designed by renowned architects: the Sheikh Zayed National Museum of History and National Heritage, designed by British architect Norman Foster; a Performing Arts Center, designed by the architecture firm Zaha Hadid; a Maritime Museum, designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando; and, of course, the Guggenheim, designed by Frank Gehry.

Louvre Abu Dhabi | Book Tickets

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi

The Guggenheim Museum on Saadiyat Island will be the first in the Middle East to join the Guggenheim museums established in New York, Venice, and Bilbao, Spain. The museum’s design was entrusted to renowned American architect Frank Gehry, who also designed the museum in Bilbao, turning it into a stunning architectural icon.

The museum, covering 30,000 square meters, is a massive project shaped like an asymmetric mountain, composed of geometric structures—squares and cones. Construction, which began nearly a decade ago, has been intermittently paused due to various challenges, including social protests against the exploitation of foreign workers under harsh conditions. As of now, the project is officially ongoing, but the opening date remains shrouded in uncertainty.

The museum will feature permanent collections of modern art alongside rotating exhibitions from the global Guggenheim Foundation collection. The museum curators have already assembled a significant collection of artworks created since 1960.

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi

Alserkal Avenue and D3

In the heart of the Al Quoz industrial area, just 25 minutes from downtown Dubai, lies Alserkal Avenue, which has become one of the city’s most vibrant cultural hubs. Former industrial buildings that once served as warehouses have been transformed into homes for leading, stylish galleries primarily showcasing contemporary Middle Eastern art. The area also hosts boutiques from local designers, creative spaces for children, trendy cafés, and large open areas where performances and artist workshops take place.

Not far from there is Dubai’s Design District, known as Dubai Design District, or D3 (the acronym stands for the three “D”s in the full name). Established in 2015, this district features shared creative spaces, workshops, and galleries for creators in the fields of visual arts, fashion design, furniture design, jewelry design, and performing arts.

The Museum of the Future, Dubai

In October 2021, the Museum of the Future is set to open in Dubai—an awe-inspiring architectural structure with a unique shape and Arabic calligraphy inscriptions on its façade, making it one of the most intriguing projects in the region.

The museum will explore the future of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies in fields such as health, ecology, food, transportation, and energy. It will also serve as a venue for scientific conferences, startup events, and interactive exhibitions aimed at exploring the world of tomorrow.

The revolutionary design of the building, shaped like a torus, rises 77 meters in height and resembles a giant eye overseeing the city. According to the designers, the local architecture firm Killa Design, the solid, built part of the structure represents the knowledge we have today, while the empty space in the center symbolizes all that we do not yet know—in other words, the future.

A total of $140 million was invested in the construction of the museum. Its outer façade consists of 1,024 panels, which feature Arabic calligraphy. The museum’s directors have yet to reveal the exact wording of the text, but it is known that these are poetic expressions written by Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the Prime Minister of the UAE. According to him, the museum combines “Arab authenticity with global aspirations for the future.”

Museum of The Future – Future Museum Dubai – Visit Today

Art Dubai

Art Dubai is a leading international art fair in the Middle East, held annually every March for the past 14 years. It brings together collectors, curators, investors, and gallerists under one roof, offering a platform to enjoy and purchase both local and international artworks, while also discovering new talents in the art world.

The fair is divided into three main sectors: Contemporary Art, Modern Art, and “Bawwaba” (which means “Gateway”)—a sector dedicated to Arab art. The next fair is scheduled for March 2021, but in the meantime, an online series of solo exhibitions titled “Portraits” was held, showcasing works by leading regional artists, and it concluded at the end of January.

Sharjah Biennial

The emirate of Sharjah, located north of Dubai, has been declared by UNESCO as the “Cultural and Educational Capital of the Arab World.” One of its most prominent cultural events is the Sharjah Biennial, held every two years and regarded as a leading cultural event in the Arab world. The biennial was first organized in 1993 by the city’s Department of Culture, and after ten years, it was revitalized by the daughter of the ruler of Sharjah, Princess Hoor Al Qasimi, who turned it into one of the best biennials in the world.

The biennial aims to foster international dialogue, primarily through the presentation of modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art. Numerous artists from around the world are invited to showcase large-scale installations, bringing international art to the region.

The 15th edition of the biennial was originally scheduled to open in March 2021 but was postponed by a year due to the pandemic. In the meantime, visitors to Sharjah can explore the local Museum of Islamic Culture and the Contemporary and Modern Islamic Art Museum.

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