Louvre Abu Dhabi has announced a full season of programming for the 2018-2019 season under the theme World of Exchanges.

International exhibitions will include Japanese Connections: The Birth of Modern Décor (6 September – 24 November 2018), which explores links between Japanese aesthetics and modern French decorative arts; Roads of Arabia (8 November 2018 – 16 February 2019), the acclaimed exhibition exploring the archaeological and cultural heritage of Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula; Rembrandt and the Dutch Golden Age: The Leiden Collection and the musee du Louvre (14 February – 14 May 2019) presenting 17th century masterpieces by Rembrandt and artists of his time; and Opening the Album of the World (25 April – 30 July 2019) in collaboration with Musee du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, tracing early photographic methods from around the globe. On 6 September, Louvre Abu Dhabi’s Children’s Museum will open its second exhibition, which looks at real and imaginary animals throughout art history.

Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, UAE said: "It is with great pleasure that we today launch Louvre Abu Dhabi’s new season. Arts and culture play an instrumental role in nurturing cultural understanding and fostering civic mediation. Louvre Abu Dhabi is an interactive space for the people of the UAE and beyond. It tells stories from all around the world and enables multifaceted perspectives to be heard, discovered, explored, and respected."

Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, said: "Louvre Abu Dhabi’s new season, A World of Exchanges, will offer visitors an opportunity to engage with a diverse programme and new conversations about different civilisations and their connecting points. Louvre Abu Dhabi is Abu Dhabi’s gift to the world – a place where all cultures can find something that reminds them of home, showcasing the wide range of similarities that unite us, to be seen, experienced and enjoyed by all. The museum is the emblem of the city’s openness and reflects its local, regional and international communities."

"As we approach Louvre Abu Dhabi’s first anniversary, a momentous milestone and a time where we reflect on our visitors to date, we are proud to launch our first full-year season," said Manuel Rabate, Director of Louvre Abu Dhabi. "The upcoming programme demonstrates our commitment to celebrating understanding and exchange through the arts, as we continue to set a new direction for cultural dialogue."

Dr. Souraya Noujaim, Scientific, Curatorial and Collections Management Director, Louvre Abu Dhabi, said: "Our international exhibitions are a platform to explore the themes and ideas of our permanent galleries more deeply, shining a light on the cross-cultural dialogues at the centre of our curatorial story. These four exhibitions will take visitors on a journey around the globe and highlight the cultural and social exchanges that have always defined human interaction. The vibrant programme features academic conferences and research that will further global museography, as well as performances, concerts and multidisciplinary arts that have something to offer for all of Louvre Abu Dhabi’s audiences."

Programme details Japanese Connections: The Birth of Modern Décor, 6 September – 24 November 2018 Curated by Isabelle Cahn, General Curator of Paintings at Paris’s Musée d’Orsay, the exhibition will trace the influence of the iconic Japanese Ukiyo-e aesthetic on modern French decorative artists, through a presentation of more than 40 prints, paintings and screens including French group, the Nabis, and five Japanese Ukiyo-e masters from the 19th and 20th centuries.

For the first time, Louvre Abu Dhabi will open a special space for teenagers and young adults to explore Japanese youth culture, from 6 September 2018 to 5 January 2019 called Manga Lab. The space, located in Louvre Abu Dhabi’s forum, will offer a variety of entertaining experiences, including Japanese artworks brought to life through virtual reality, retro arcade gaming, an expression wall, a chill-out reading area, and a series of masterclasses and workshops exploring the art of Manga and graphic comics.

The exhibition will be accompanied by programming that celebrates Japanese arts and culture. The weekend of the exhibition opening will feature the Emirati-Japanese Kharsha Drums group, who will play traditional waikaido percussion performances played by Japanese and Emirati musicians to the museum. The programme will offer film screenings curated by Hind Mezaina, a talk entitled ‘100 years of Manga’ exploring how Japanese traditions inspired the phenomenon and a project with renowned street artist Myneandyours whose collaboration with several UAE schools will be showcased in the museum. The programme culminates with a Big in Japan weekend including a spoken word by award-winning Emirati Afra Atiq, and a performance by the Turntable Symphonograph Orchestra from Japan. The museum’s café will feature a special Japanese-inspired menu.

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