LIFESTYLE
the popular, ongoing yoga and kayaking activities at the museum. Through a joint collaboration with leading Swiss watchmakers Richard Mille, Louvre Abu Dhabi has established an annual exhibition and art prize for contemporary artists. The inaugural exhibition Louvre Abu Dhabi Art Here 2021 will feature all shortlisted, UAE-based artists’ proposals from 18 November 2021 to 27 March 2022 in the Forum, a space of interaction and exchange dedicated to contemporary art. From these shortlisted artists, one will be selected as the winner of the Richard Mille Art Prize and awarded $50,000. This collaboration creates a significant platform for artists in the region, as well as an expansion of Louvre Abu Dhabi’s display of and engagement with contemporary art. The first international exhibition of 2022, Versailles and the World (26 January – 4 June 2022), will be held in partnership with musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon and tells the story of Versailles as a central diplomatic instrument that solidified the prowess of the French royal court and served as the stage for its fascination with various civilisations in a rapidly globalising world. This exhibition is curated by Hélène Delalex, Curator, Furniture and Decorative Arts, and Bertrand Rondot, Chief Curator, Furniture and Decorative Arts, at the musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon. Global cultures and aesthetics found themselves represented at Versailles as it transformed into a diplomatic hub receiving foreign dignitaries from all around the world. These visits ushered in an unparalleled era of artistic and commercial exchanges, which will be brought to life in this exhibition through an array of objects, from Chinese and Japanese lacquerware to wallpapers and porcelain. Delving into one medium that is crucial to artistic production, documentation, and communication, Stories of Paper (April – July 2022) will trace the origins of paper in all its forms, from ancient China and the Islamic world, to contemporary global societies. At a
time when the use and purpose of paper is being questioned in an increasingly digital world, this exhibition seeks to define paper as part of a global, collective human heritage. Organised with Musée du Louvre, this exhibition is curated by Xavier Salmon, director of the Drawings and Prints department at Musée du Louvre and Victor Hundsbuckler, curator at the same department. The Emotions! The New Art Adventure exhibition also continues in Louvre Abu Dhabi’s Children’s Museum. Children and families navigate three floors of interactive activities, artworks, and games to explore four key emotions: joy, sadness, fear, and anger. Children can learn to let unpleasant feelings go, explore ways cultivate happiness, and come away understanding all emotions. Access to the museum and the exhibition is free to all children under 18. NEW LOANS & ACQUISITIONS Coinciding with the museum’s anniversary, 59 new loans and 56 new acquisitions will go on view in Louvre Abu Dhabi’s galleries. Works on loan come from lending institutions within the France Muséums network, along with regional and local partners. These artworks will be installed among those in Louvre Abu Dhabi’s permanent collection, creating new narratives and stories of cultural connections between artworks in formal and thematic dialogues. In celebration of the UAE’s 50th National Day, Louvre Abu Dhabi will display artworks from each of the seven emirates – including loans from national museums and institutions such as the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi and Dubai Municipality. Returning visitors to the museum will be greeted by an entirely new pairing of works upon entry – the bronze sculpture The Words I Love Most by Egyptian artist Ghada Amer (2012) on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi in dialogue with the new acquisition Series of eight allegories attributed to Jacob de Backer (Antwerp, 2021 DEC
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