In 2007, it was announced that the French government will rent art, expertise, and the name “Louvre” to a new museum that will be built in Abu Dhabi. The artworks and expertise will come from the Louvre and other famous Paris museums, such as the Orsay, and individual pieces will be loaned out for periods of six months to two years.
The price, according to a January 2007 New York Times article is in the US$800 million to $1 billion range. An October 2007 article from Le Figaro said the price tag for the UAE was about €1 billion (approximately US$1.6 billion), of which the Louvre would net €400 million (approximately US$620 million) and the new International Agency of French Museums (which will manage the museum) get the rest. The “rental” period would be 30 years. During the “rental” period, Abu Dhabi will be building its own collection. After the “rental” period, Abu Dhabi Louvre will adopt its own name.
The Abu Dhabi Louvre museum building, which will be paid for by Abu Dhabi, will be part of a group of museums to be built on Saadiyat Island, off Abu Dhabi, and which is scheduled to open in 2012. The museum’s architect is French.
As can be imagined, the deal is controversial. Some consider the arrangement a chance for East to meet West, an opportunity to promote intercultural dialogue, and a good way to bring art to the people. Others worry about censorship, security, and the integrity of national collections, and decry the selling out of France’s national heritage. A former director of the Picasso Museum called it “truly the act of death of the public museum such as we knew it.”
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