New museum on the block: Guggenheim Abu Dhabi to open doors on Saadiyat

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi has announced that Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will open its doors on December 11, 2026. Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is a museum of modern and contemporary art and will be a space for encounter and exchange, promoting a more connected and diverse global community through art. The museum has a unique identity and vision, shaped by Abu Dhabi’s artistic landscape and designed to reflect the United Arab Emirates’ stories and beyond, encouraging curiosity among younger generations about modern and contemporary art. It will further strengthen Abu Dhabi’s position as a leading global capital for the arts.

The museum joins a growing community of museums and cultural institutions in Saadiyat Cultural District, including Louvre Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum, Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi and teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi, positioning the district as one of the world’s most significant concentrations of cultural institutions. Part of the Guggenheim constellation of museums in New York, Venice and Bilbao, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi brings an identity shaped by Abu Dhabi’s legacy, in a region that has been at the crossroads of culture and trade for millennia.

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is envisioned as a museum of modern and contemporary art that connects cultures, inspires people, and celebrates art from the 1960s to the present, shining a light on artists from around the world. The museum will offer new perspectives on modern and contemporary art from an Abu Dhabi lens through its collection, commissions, research, exhibitions, and multilingual programmes. Aiming to reflect a transcultural approach, it moves beyond chronology and geography to highlight artistic lineages, networks and exchanges. Its collection spans a wide range of artistic media, including painting, sculpture, installation, photography, moving image, and new media.

A detail of the museum.

Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi, said that “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.” Dr. Mariët Westermann, Director and CEO of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, said: “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.”

Envisioned as a platform for dialogue, the museum brings together diverse perspectives across geographies and generations through modern and contemporary art. Spanning a wide range of artistic media, it presents art as a dynamic and evolving conversation across time and place. Guests will be invited to engage with art on their own terms, shaping individual pathways through galleries that consider major vectors of art since 1960, such as Abstractions, Popular Culture, Land, Language, and Storytelling.

Part of the museum reflected against the sky.

The displays unfold connections across geographies, generations and artistic practices, and will provide dynamic frameworks for understanding the art of our own time as a source of knowledge, expression and connection, while inviting visitors to explore art history through relationships and resonances rather than a linear chronology. Designed by the late Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate Frank Gehry, the museum is located on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, a meeting point between land and sea. The building features 30 galleries that unfold across the interior, connected by a central atrium and ten sculptural cones that punctuate the building’s dynamic skyline. Nine are clad in stainless steel mesh and one in onyx and glass.

Reaching heights of up to 88 metres, the sculptural cones provide natural ventilation and shade, enhancing the building’s energy efficiency, while articulating its bold silhouette. Spanning 11,600 square metres of interior gallery space and 23,000 square metres of outdoor exhibition areas, the landmark encompasses a total built-up area of 80,000 square metres, reinforcing its role as one of the most significant museum developments, since 1960. Since 2009, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi has been building a growing collection of modern and contemporary art that will reflect and advance Abu Dhabi’s role as a catalyst for creative production and innovation in the arts.

Saadiyat Cultural District Abu Dhabi.

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is the result of a visionary collaboration between the Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. The Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi drives the sustainable growth of Abu Dhabi’s culture and tourism sectors, fuels economic progress and helps achieve Abu Dhabi’s wider global ambitions. Its vision is defined by the Emirate’s people, heritage and landscape. It works to enhance Abu Dhabi’s status as a place of authenticity, innovation, and unparalleled experiences, represented by its living traditions of hospitality, pioneering initiatives and creative thought.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation was established in 1937 and is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of modern and contemporary art through exhibitions, education programmes, research initiatives, and publications. The foundation collects, preserves, and interprets modern and contemporary art, and explores ideas across cultures through curatorial and educational initiatives and collaborations. The international constellation of museums under it includes the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice; the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao; and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.