Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Finally Gets an Opening Date

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is set to open its doors on December 11. The grand opening of the museum has become one of the most anticipated of its kind since its initial announcement in 2006, and now, after two decades, it’s gearing up to welcome the public.

The build-out, totalling 80,000 square meters, instantly commands. Designed by the late Frank Gehry, also behind Guggenheim Bilbao, the Abu Dhabi outpost is the largest of Guggenheim’s four locations, with 11,600 square meters of interior space alongside 23,000 square meters of outdoor exhibition areas.

The building comprises 30 galleries, connected by a central atrium, and wrapped in a cluster of 10 cones — nine in stainless-steel mesh and one in onyx and glass. Rising to 88 meters tall, the towers use traditional cooling techniques, like natural ventilation and shading, to manage the desert climate.

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As for curation, the museum’s collection has been nearly 17 years in the making. The collection delivers new perspectives on art since 1960, with a notable focus on North African, and West and South Asian work. The curation, the Guggenheim wrote, “adopts a transcultural approach” to “highlight artistic lineages, networks, and exchanges,” going beyond just chronology and geography. Thematic sections include “Abstractions,” “Popular Culture,” “Land,” and “Language and Storytelling.”

“Through the many stories it will tell and invite, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will be a source of wonder, a hub of connection, and a place of curiosity and joy for people from the United Arab Emirates and the world,” Dr. Mariët Westermann, Director and CEO of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, said in a recent statement.