For many‭, ‬the love of art began in a museum‭.‬

The United Arab Emirates has been graced with a number of world-class museums‭, ‬and the newest art museum‭ ‬—‭ ‬Guggenheim Abu Dhabi‭ ‬—‭ ‬is expected to open sometime soon‭. ‬The museum will engage with the UAE community and be an active centre of culture with educational activities and events‭.‬

Dr‭. ‬Mariët Westermann‭, ‬director and CEO of the New York-based Solomon R‭. ‬Guggenheim Foundation‭, ‬spoke with‭ ‬KT LUXE‭ ‬this month about the museum‭, ‬and its mission to reflect the international nature of the population of the UAE‭. ‬The building was‭ ‬designed by world-renowned architect‭, ‬the late Frank Gehry‭. ‬

“One of the goals of the museum is to show that contemporary art really matters to culture today and to society‭, ‬and it’s a great thing to be able to show them in a special way in Abu Dhabi and the UAE because it is one of the most diverse societies in the world‭,‬”‭ ‬she said‭. ‬

Dr Mariët Westermann

The Guggenheim opening date is not yet public‭, ‬but there is anticipation that it will be soon‭. ‬Edited excerpts from an interview‭:‬

The Frank Gehry building is an architectural wonder‭. ‬How will it shape the viewing experience when it opens in the near future‭? ‬‭ ‬

Frank Gehry is such a wonderful architect as you know from one of the most famous museums in the world‭, ‬which is the Guggenheim‭ ‬Bilbao‭. ‬The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will be very different again‭, ‬but also by Frank Gehry‭. ‬What is so special about it is that the‭ ‬spaces on the outside really create a very striking skyline for the tippy top of Saadiyat Island that you can already see as you‭ ‬drive by‭.‬

But then the experience on the inside is similarly dynamic‭. ‬When visitors come in‭, ‬they will have ways of crafting their own paths through the museum‭. ‬It won’t be one single path you can take‭. ‬You have a lot of flexibility‭, ‬but just as in the Guggenheim in New York‭, ‬and in Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Bilbao‭, ‬you’ll have these flowing spaces to engage with art in formal galleries‭, ‬but also in more‭, ‬what you could call‭, ‬interstitial spaces‭,‬‭ ‬connecting spaces‭. ‬So‭, ‬the building itself‭, ‬you could say‭, ‬is a great work of sculpture in its own right‭.‬

What type of art do you plan to‭ ‬
display‭?  ‬

The museum has been building a collection‭. ‬The Department of Culture and Tourism‭, ‬Abu Dhabi‭, ‬has done that‭. ‬It has been building‭ ‬a collection very much in partnership with the Guggenheim that is about the arts of the recent past and present‭. ‬It is a global collection‭,‬‭ ‬with a special focus on the region‭, ‬the West Asian region‭, ‬and the Gulf region‭, ‬but radiating out to all continents‭. ‬

The wide range of artists represented from around the world and the region really reflects the composition‭, ‬the very cosmopolitan‭, ‬very international composition of the population of Abu Dhabi‭ ‬and the UAE‭. ‬One of the goals of the museum is to show that contemporary art really matters to culture today and to society‭, ‬and it’s a great thing to be able to show them in a special way in Abu Dhabi and the UAE‭, ‬because it is one of the most diverse societies in the world‭.  ‬

A youth programme has been announced‭. ‬Can you tell us more about that‭? ‬

What’s very exciting is I think we know this from the Guggenheim‭, ‬in all the Guggenheim museums‭, ‬that it’s one thing to have a great collection and exhibitions‭, ‬and we will‭. ‬They will be world class art programmes‭. ‬But to make sure that everyone can engage with them‭, ‬you have to have a very good strategy for engaging learners and curious people of all ages‭. ‬

‭ ‬We’re very proud that we’re already now having very active public programming that’s ongoing across the Emirates‭. ‬It’s opening up people’s opportunities to engage with art‭, ‬this contemporary art‭, ‬this scholarship about it‭, ‬but also‭, ‬art you are making yourself in response to what you have learned from artists and from people who study art‭. ‬

There will be a very wide suite of programmes that are already being offered now‭, ‬in a run-up to the opening of the museum‭.‬

Do you have any other programmes in mind that you plan to offer‭? ‬

Absolutely‭. ‬Today‭, ‬art museums are very different from the way they were say 50‭, ‬70‭ ‬years ago‭, ‬when‭, ‬typically‭, ‬they were focused on older generations‭, ‬and often assumed that people already knew a lot about art‭. ‬That has really changed‭, ‬and you can see‭, ‬when you go to the Louvre Abu Dhabi how wonderful is that you see people of all stripes and backgrounds and generations coming in there‭.  ‬

When you think back to Frank Gehry’s building‭, ‬it is truly designed as a place for exchange of ideas‭, ‬for dialogue‭. ‬There are many places that you can sit and hang‭ ‬out and go talk to people but also engage in actually structured programmes‭. ‬There will be a combination of structured programmes‭, ‬but also opportunities to gather that can be crafted‭, ‬for example‭, ‬around community moments‭, ‬special moments in the calendar‭ ‬of Abu Dhabi through the year‭,  ‬to do with food and so forth‭. ‬I think that you can expect this museum to have very lively public programming that isn’t just lectures but is also meant to elicit the participation of people to talk about art and also have art making programmes‭.‬

I‭  ‬was wondering with the‭ ‬
Guggenheim being truly global‭, ‬what’s next on your agenda‭?  ‬

What’s next on my agenda is making absolutely sure with my partners that the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi opens very soon now‭, ‬and that we make it a really great success in the years ahead‭. ‬Of course‭, ‬we will always stay open to the opportunities‭. ‬The Guggenheim has always been an open and entrepreneurial institution‭, ‬going back to 1937‭. ‬