New season at Louvre Abu Dhabi to showcase ‘Changing Societies’
ABU DHABI — Louvre Abu Dhabi’s 2019-2020 season will launch in September and will include four exhibitions to explore how the arts have channelled and acted as a witness to society throughout history.
It will be accompanied by live performances, world-renowned installations, music, poetry and family events.
Manuel Rabaté, Director of Louvre Abu Dhabi, said: “This upcoming season entitled ‘Changing Societies’ represents our boldest and most extensive programme to date. Supported by our incredible network of international partners, we are able to bring exhibitions of quality and scale that are unparalleled in the region.’’
Costume Adventure, a new interactive space in the Children’s Museum opening on July 9 will enable the youngest art enthusiasts to learn about the costumes of characters from history found in some of the museum’s artworks.
The public programme for the season introduces a thematic line-up curated by Ruth Mackenzie, CBE.
The international exhibitions include, for the first time in the Middle East, Rendezvous in Paris: Picasso, Chagall, Modigliani & Co. (1900-1939) (September 18 to December 7). Held in partnership with Centre Pompidou, the exhibition will allow visitors to discover the Paris of the “Roaring Twenties” — a Bohemian hub for artists from across Europe, many of whom left their home countries in search of a place where they could truly and safely express themselves.
Presenting more than 80 works of art, which are being exhibited for the first time in the Middle East, the exhibition will include masterpieces by Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Amedeo Modigliani, Sonia Delaunay, Giorgio De Chirico, Juan Gris, Constantin Brancusi, Tamara de Lempicka, Brassaï and others. Organised by Louvre Abu Dhabi, Centre Pompidou and Agence France-Muséums, the exhibition is curated by Christian Briend, head curator, Modern Art Collection, Centre Pompidou, assisted by Anna Hiddleston, assistant curator, Modern Art, Centre Pompidou.
Inspired by Picasso’s Cubist artworks and the poetry of Jean Cocteau and Guillaume Apollinaire, the exhibition will launch with an exciting cultural programme as Cubism is brought to life across the museum.
Between September 18 and 21, visitors will be able to encounter ‘Living Machines’ which will roam the museum, and be amazed by choreographer Elizabeth Streb and her STREB Extreme Action Troupe who will combine acrobatics, circus arts and contemporary dance to give a spectacular performance on giant machines.
Other highlights include a September Family Weekend on 27 and 28, with workshops inspired by Picasso and Cocteau. The programme also includes a series of film screenings curated by Emirati artist Hind Mezaina and a talk by the exhibition curator, Christian Briend.
The cultural programme around the exhibition will conclude with an electro-night hosted with Abu Dhabi label Boogie Box on November 21, with live sets from Amon Tobin and his Two Fingers DJ Set, Molecule Live and Boogie Box DJs, Hassan Alwan and Tristan Girault. —