Louvre Abu Dhabi is the Arab world's first universal museum — a landmark on Saadiyat Island where art and artefacts from across human history are shown side by side. Conceived with France and crowned by Jean Nouvel's vast silver dome and its famous “rain of light,” it sits at the centre of Abu Dhabi's cultural district.
Opened in 2017, Louvre Abu Dhabi is the most ambitious cultural project in the Gulf and the Arab world's first universal museum. Its galleries trace a single, cross-cultural story of humanity, placing works from different civilisations, religions and eras in dialogue rather than separating them by region.
Jean Nouvel's domed building, seemingly floating on the sea, is itself a landmark of contemporary architecture. For the region, Louvre Abu Dhabi signals the Gulf's arrival as a global cultural capital and a growing audience for art of every kind, including the modern and contemporary work of this region.
Collection focus
- Universal art
- Antiquities
- Islamic art
- Modern & contemporary art
- Decorative arts
