Louvre Abu Dhabi Celebrates Fifth Anniversary with New Cultural Season Featuring Three Major Exhibitions

In the lead-up to Louvre Abu Dhabi’s fifth anniversary this November, the museum has revealed details of its new 2022-23 cultural season. Visitors can look forward to the openings of three major exhibitions – including Impressionism: Pathways to Modernity, the region’s first major Impressionism showcase – in addition to a rich cultural programme featuring an exciting line-up of activities and events.

The new season explores the many geographic paths and singular voices that have created significant artistic and cultural connections across the globe. Louvre Abu Dhabi will also offer a range of programming and events highlighting global exchange and connectivity with the UAE.

Manuel Rabaté, Director, Louvre Abu Dhabi, said: “As we mark our fifth anniversary this November, Louvre Abu Dhabi continues to offer something for everyone with this upcoming season, from exhibitions and new artworks to special events and programming. We remain deeply rooted in our community, committed to our mission of telling stories of cultural connections to the world through our upcoming exhibitions Impressionism: Pathways to Modernity and Bollywood Superstars, and providing UAE and GCC artists the opportunity to exhibit their works at the museum with our Louvre Abu Dhabi Art Here 2022 showcase.”

Dr. Souraya Noujaim, Scientific, Curatorial and Collections Management Director, added: “The strength of our collection and display of artworks at Louvre Abu Dhabi comes from our unique semi-permanent model and the storytelling potential it presents. There is always an ever-evolving narrative on global connectivity and the many shared threads. Since the inception of Louvre Abu Dhabi, our mission has been to celebrate stories of cultural connections, to help visitors find commonalities through art, across cultures, geographies, and time. We would not be able to achieve this without the myriad of acquisitions and loans on display in our galleries, which are a testament to the strength of our partnerships— from the heart of this region, to Paris, and around the world — continually helping us foster moments of discovery for our visitors as we celebrate our anniversary.” 

Exhibitions

The first international Impressionist exhibition in the region, Impressionism: Pathways to Modernity (12 October 2022 – 5 February 2023) examines this key artistic movement which began in Paris in the 1860s and completely revolutionised the way of seeing and painting the world. The exhibition is curated by Sylvie Patry, Chief Curator, Deputy Director for Collections and Curatorial Affairs at Musée d’Orsay, and Stéphane Guégan, Scientific Advisor to the President, Musée d’Orsay et Musée de l’Orangerie. Organised in partnership with Musée d’Orsay and France Muséums, and gathering about 100 Impressionist masterpieces, the exhibition explores the period spanning from the mid-1850s to the end of the 19th century, while emphasising artists’ reactions to social and economic upheavals and the emergence of a new world.

Coinciding with the museum’s fifth anniversary, Louvre Abu Dhabi and Swiss watchmaking brand Richard Mille are holding the second edition of the Louvre Abu Dhabi Art Here 2022 exhibition and the Richard Mille Art Prize (November 2022—February 2023). This year, Art Here 2022 is welcoming entries from contemporary artists based in the UAE and across the GCC (nationals and residents). The selected artists’ work will be showcased at the museum’s Forum, a space of interaction and exchange dedicated to contemporary art.

Curated by Reem Fadda, Director of the Cultural Foundation, Art Here 2022’s overarching theme is the notion of Icon/Iconic, with entries asked to examine how the concept of the icon resonates within contemporary art practices and informs new artistic perspectives. In an increasingly digitised world, the terms icon and iconic often connect and separate; an icon is at once an object, an image, and a symbol. For Art Here 2022, artists are encouraged to re-engage with the icon to revitalise this iconic effect.

The shortlisted artists will be chosen by an international jury, and one winner selected for the $60,000 Richard Mille Art Prize. This collaboration continues to create a meaningful platform for artists in the region, and serves as an expansion of Louvre Abu Dhabi’s display of and engagement with contemporary art. Proposals for the open call may be submitted until 31 July 2022 via Louvre Abu Dhabi’s website. 

Organised in partnership with Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac and France Muséums, Bollywood Superstars (25 January – 4 June 2023) will present the richness of the Indian sub-continent’s art and civilisation through its long tradition of image making, and the diversity of the Indian filmmaking industry. Today, India is the world’s leading film producer, with more than 1,500 films a year in about 20 languages exported throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The exhibition explores the history of Indian cinema from its beginnings in the late 19th century up to the present. Bollywood Superstars is co-curated by Julien Rousseau, Curator of the Asian Collection at Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac with Hélène Kessous, Anthropologist and specialist of South Asian cinema.

Events and Programming

Louvre Abu Dhabi is hosting month-long five-year anniversary festivities through an extensive cultural programming calendar which will feature an array of events catering to all audiences. The anniversary season will complement ongoing programmes, with particular focus on the latest exhibitions and new loans and acquisitions, and feature curated talks, concerts, performances, film screenings, workshops and more. Highlights include a contemporary dance performance inspired by the Impressionism: Pathways to Modernity exhibition and an immersive theatre experience based on the Bollywood Superstars exhibition. More information on the programming will be announced soon.