Louvre Abu Dhabi, a cultural cornerstone

This new museum in the United Arab Emirates is where East meets West, writes

powerful Louvre brand for 400 million euros (RM1.97 billion) for more than 30 years. Eventually it will pay a total of 974 million euros for French expertise, guidance and loans.

In return, 17 French museums and institutions shipped 300 artworks here this year, from Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of La Belle Ferronniere to massive marble nymphs from Versailles. French museum experts are also advising the Emiratis on what to acquire and organising temporary exhibitions for up to 15 years. Inside the new Louvre Abu Dhabi museum. CULTURAL STRATEGY

“Soft power is now the catchword of all diplomats,” said Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh, the UAE minister of state, who was an adviser from the beginning when the museum was simply a sketch and its future site was inhabited by nesting turtles and seashells. “It means it is no longer sufficient to have military or economic power if you are not able to share your values. Exchange — this is what soft power is about.”

Thepublicopening—withanappearance by French President Emmanuel Macron, and flyovers with the Louvre’s name on the wings of the country’s national Etihad airlines — comes as the monarchy is also engaged in a diplomatic boycott of neighbouring Qatar, over allegations that Qatar supports extremists.

Nusseibeh said his government considers the Louvre Abu Dhabi part of a cultural strategy to counter tensions in the region. The Emirates’ ultimate aim is to promote the capital as a tolerant global city, and its flagship museum as a bridge between civilisations.

“The priority is to invest heavily in education and culture,” he said, speaking at his art-filled country home outside Abu Dhabi. “This has become more important because of what happened with the radicalisation of groups that have kidnapped Islam for their own political purposes. It is against everything that this country stands for,” he added.

Despite those lofty goals, the gritty reality of geopolitics intrudes in the country’s budding cultural sphere. In late October, as preparations were underway to hang the paintings, a local judo athlete at Abu Dhabi’s international Grand Slam The French architect Jean Nouvel, who designed the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum. tournament refused to shake hands after losing to an Israeli competitor.

Image-conscious government sports officials rushed to apologise formally for the snub and to pose for photographs with the Israeli athletes.

COSTLY AFFAIR

In many ways, the government regards its costly cultural strategy to open the Louvre Abu Dhabi and then another long-delayed museum outpost — the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, designed by Frank Gehry — as the diplomatic approach of the 15th-century house of Medici that solidified its power, influence and image from Florence, Italy, through the patronage of art and architecture.

The ambitious project “was a bit farfetched to a lot of people,” said Mohamed Khalifa al-Mubarak, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, and