The Middle East has its share of breathtakingly beautiful museums and cultural institutions, with the kingdoms throwing their weight and wealth behind these projects.
There is the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, with I.M. Pei written all over it. The UAE’s own Louvre Abu Dhabi by Jean Nouvel. Saudi Arabia has The King Abdulaziz Center for <a href="https://absafricatv9491.live-website.com/why-world-cup-qualification-remains-a-distant-dream/” title=”Why World Cup Qualification Remains a Distant Dream”>World Culture aka Ithra in Dhahran, designed by Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta. And, many more.
The latest showstopper will join them on December 11, 2026—the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi by Frank Gehry. The Department of Culture and Tourism—Abu Dhabi announced that the new museum will proudly be part if the Guggenheim constellation of museums in New York, Venice, and Bilbao. The original in Bilbao, too, was designed by Gehry.
His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of Department of Culture and Tourism—Abu Dhabi, said: “Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is a defining moment in our cultural journey. The museum is shaped by the emirate’s long-held conviction that culture is the most enduring bridge between peoples and a building block for forward-looking societies.”
The Saadiyat Cultural District, which houses the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, also hosts the Zayed National Museum, the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi, Berklee Abu Dhabi, Manarat Al Saadiyat, and the Abrahamic Family House.
For lack of a better word, you can call the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi expansive. That is 1.25 lakh square feet of interior gallery space and 2.47 lakh square feet of outdoor exhibition areas. This is Gehry’s biggest museum ever, with a total built-up area of 8.61 lakh square feet.
At first glance, what catches your eye are the ten sculptural cones reaching heights of up to 88m. “Nine clad in stainless steel mesh and one in onyx and glass,” the official note explains. Gehry died last December, aged 95, and he had called this project “truly thrilling”.
The Guggenheim official site said that the new museum will have an “emphasis on art from the Gulf region, West Asia, North Africa, and South Asia”. If you are in the Emirates in December or later and would like to track exhibitions at the museum, sign up HERE.
- UAE
