The keenly anticipated Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will open its doors on Saadiyat Island on December 11, the Department of Culture and Tourism-Abu Dhabi announced today. Plans for the addition to the Guggenheim network were unveiled in 2006 at an undisclosed cost, designed by the late Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry.
At its opening, it will become the largest star in the Guggenheim’s four-country museum constellation, joining the flagship in New York and outposts in Venice and Bilbao. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi sits on Saadiyat Island, within walking distance of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, which opened in 2017, and the more recently inaugurated Zayed National Museum and Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi.
The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is a “defining moment in our cultural journey,” said Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, in a statement today. “As a key element of Saadiyat Cultural District, the museum will create new opportunities for learning, creativity, and cultural exchange, inspiring future generations to explore their own potential,” he added.
The museum comprises 30 galleries, each connected by a central atrium, spanning 11,600 square meters of interior exhibition space and 23,000 square meters of outdoor exhibition space. Its display will rotate its collection of modern and contemporary artworks, which largely represent West Asian, North African, and South Asian art from 1960 onward. The works will be grouped thematically, including by geography, language, and movement, the institution said.
Stephanie Rosenthal, the director of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi project, wrote on LinkedIn today, “Our team has evolved into one of the most remarkably diverse groups I have ever worked with, bringing together unique cultures, disciplines, and perspectives. Together, we have navigated complex challenges, adapted to constant change, and reached extraordinary milestones.”
The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will debut onto a cultural landscape that has undergone rapid development over the past three decades, with Frieze Abu Dhabi scheduled to launch in November 2026. But the region’s cultural ambitions have not been untouched by the US-Israel war with Iran. Art Dubai was postponed and ultimately opened in an adapted format in May following retaliatory Iranian strikes on US military outposts in the Gulf.
