The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi has announced that Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will open to the public on 11 December 2026.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is located in the heart of the Saadiyat Cultural District in Abu Dhabi, alongside a diverse community of museums including Louvre Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum, Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi and teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi.
His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, shared:“Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is a defining moment in our cultural journey. The museum is shaped by the emirate’s long-held conviction that culture is the most enduring bridge between peoples and a building block for forward-looking societies. It brings new perspectives to modern and contemporary art, shining a light on art from all around the world. As a key element of Saadiyat Cultural District, the museum will create transformative new opportunities for learning, creativity, and cultural exchange, inspiring future generations to explore their own potential. Here, everyone belongs and can see themselves reflected in the stories the museum tells, engaging with ideas and artistic voices from across the world.”
Designed by the late Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate Frank Gehry, the museum’s building and its surroundings span a total of 80, 000 square metres, with an energy-efficient construction designed to provide shade and ventilation through ten sculptural cones connected by a central atrium.
Across 30 galleries, the museum will showcase art from the 1960s to the present day, with the aim of offering new perspectives on modern and contemporary art from a local lens through its permanent collection, new commissions and ongoing research and exhibitions conceived to bridge cultures across West Asia, North Africa, South Asia, and the wider region.
“The Guggenheim Foundation is proud and delighted to be a longstanding partner with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi in shaping a museum of contemporary art of magnificent scope and aspiration,” commented Dr Mariët Westermann, Director and CEO of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. “The museum’s art collection is uniquely local and global, centred in the region but with works from all continents. Through the many stories it will tell and invite, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will be a source of wonder, a hub of connection, and a place of curiosity and joy for people from the United Arab Emirates and the world.”
