Abu Dhabi has a new cultural center on the island of Saadiyat. Importing the expertise of the most recognized institutions, the city brands its image as universal and global. The most famous architects of the post-modernist era such as Jean Nouvel have been selected and are at the source of this new branding approach. Lack of knowledge and experience in creating cultural institutions led the Arabian power to collaborate with the Louvre, the Guggenheim Museum and the British Museum. As a result, a collection belonging to the Louvre was moved to Abu Dhabi for a summer exhibition. The Louvre Abu Dhabi is born.

However, this does pose questions. The issue of exporting culture has become crucial as our world becomes increasingly fragmented since global. Can culture be exported? Can art be read in a foreign context regardless its place of creation? For some experts, separate artistic creation from its nation of origin would lead to eliminating its sense and integrity whereas on the other hand, some institutions such as the Guggenheim Museum highlights the history of avant-garde through museums perceived as worldwide museums.

The notion of national artistic identity has evolved and museums are no longer built under a national framework or a national curation process. While the Louvre was the first museum to gather the artistic creations of all Europe, the 21st century is placed under the sign of cross-culturality and cross-fertilization. Globalisation enables art and culture to be shared and portable. Anywhere.

Abu Dhabi is an example of this phenomenon. The future Louvre Abu Dhabi is defined as a universal museum in the Arab world. Its very name is testament to what is an unprecedented alliance between the United Arab Emirates and France, through one of the highest level of cultural cooperation ever created between two sovereign countries. This unprecedented gesture establishes a long and solid relationship between the Musée du Louvre, the greatest museums located in Paris, and Abu Dhabi, which is a dynamic force in the contemporary world. Louvre Abu Dhabi, an innovative and ambitious project, is intended to be a place of discovery, exchange and education. It will also play an important social role in the United Arab Emirates. In this respect, it aims at being seen as a product of the 18th century Enlightenment in Europe. This movement gave birth to the principle of the encyclopaedic and universal museum housing diverse collections of artworks for the purposes of public display and scientific study. One facet of the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s vocation will be to form a shared universal memory. The dialogue between artworks, sculptures and objects would allow visitors to discover shared influences and mutual historical connections between different cultures around the globe, giving insight into the history of humankind since the beginning of time. The aim is to avoid the isolation of cultures and disciplines in order to offer a comprehensive history of art, providing an alternative to the particular vision of the world that has long been proposed by museums.

Other interesting issues would be can Art or a museum be a trademark? Can Art as a trademark be an economic leverage for cities wishing to expand either their influence or their image worldwide? Bilbao has certainly an answer as the Guggenheim museum has taken a tremendous part into the cultural and economic boom of the Spanish city.

Nevertheless, the difference between Guggenheim Bilbao and Louvre Abu Dhabi is that the Louvre is a public institution mainly funded by the French State. The agreement between Abu Dhabi and The Louvre is therefore clearly a revolution in a country where l‘exception culturelle and public grants are the rules.