Louvre Abu Dhabi, recently voted one of the seven urban wonders of the world (LikeWhere), has announced a spectacular line up for its one-year anniversary celebrations from 8-11 November 2018. The four days of celebrations, headlined by this year’s biggest break-out artist, Dua Lipa, will be filled with concerts, exhibitions, family activities and workshops as well as pop-up spoken art performances across Louvre Abu Dhabi, from the iconic promenade under the dome to the newly updated permanent galleries and auditorium.
British singer and songwriter Dua Lipa, one of the leading artists of her generation worldwide, will headline an exclusive performance at Louvre Abu Dhabi’s concert village on 11 November 2018, one year after the museum opened its doors to the public. Dua Lipa’s hit singles and music videos including New Rules and One Kiss have been watched over 1 billion times online. Tickets are 200 AED with free entry to the museum from 2pm to 6pm. The doors of the concert village will open from 6pm with DJ sets before the show.
Manuel Rabaté, Director of Louvre Abu Dhabi, said: “Louvre Abu Dhabi’s anniversary celebration is the perfect moment to thank all visitors for making our first year a success and invite them to experience the museum through poetry, music, architecture, design and much more. The essence of this museum is to nurture the world’s vibrant cross-cultural connections in all their forms, and what better opportunity than a week-long get together as we turn one.“
From 9 to 10 November, a series of pop-up performances titled Spoken Art, directed by Dorian Paul Rogers, will see seven spoken-word poets perform from 1-6 PM across the museum, from the permanent galleries to under the dome. The poets are inspired by artworks in Louvre Abu Dhabi galleries; Jayzus Zain and Qutouf Yahia from Sudan, Safwa Mohammed and Jorge Monterrosa from the US, Chamma AlBastaki from the UAE, Aathma Dious from India and Danabelle Gutierrez from the Philippines.
Emirati interdisciplinary designer Salem Al Mansoori, a maker of generative, data-driven, narrative-based works, will unveil an animated digital work in the museum’s entrance lobby. Titled Constellations, the work reflects data of Louvre Abu Dhabi’s visitors throughout the past year. His body of work crosses disciplines and varies from digital fabrication to data visualisation to algorithm-based visual art installations.
For the pop-up architecture weekend (9 and 10 November), Louvre Abu Dhabi will host free activities and a 30-minute discovery tour (11AM, 1PM, 3PM, 5PM) for all ages in the park in front of the museum. Families, children and teenagers can collaborate together to build constructions inspired by Louvre Abu Dhabi’s dome using large scale geometric shapes.
Visitors can discover the museum’s artworks in the permanent galleries with 11 new world-class acquisitions and over 20 new iconic masterpieces on loan from French and regional partner museums, and a major rehang of the modern and contemporary art galleries.
Japanese Connections: The Birth of Modern Décor, an international exhibition showcasing 19th and 20th century paintings, prints and folding screens. The artworks highlight the artistic and cultural dialogue between Japan and France and the important influence of the colourful ukiyo-e aesthetics on French modern décor. Visitors can visit the exhibition before it closes on 24 November 2018.
Teenagers and young adults will also be able to take over the Manga Lab, an extremely popular and specially designed space to explore Japanese youth culture. The space offers an immersive VR experience, retro arcade gaming, an expression wall, a chill-out reading area, and a series of masterclasses and workshops exploring the art of Manga and graphic comics.
Louvre Abu Dhabi will host a two-day symposium in collaboration with École du Louvre, addressing the topic of museums in a globalised world. The symposium brings together leaders in the field to discuss contemporary museography in keynote speeches and panel discussions. One year after Louvre Abu Dhabi’s opening, the symposium intends to explore and question the DNA of this institution as the first universal museum in the Arab world. As a new member of the international museum community, Louvre Abu Dhabi will also examine its debt to art history, the history of museums and discuss its contribution within the wider context of museums in a globalised world.
Louvre Abu Dhabi is open: Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 10 am–8 pm; Thursday and Friday, 10 am–10 pm. The museum is closed on Mondays.
