Where art and technology meet

teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi

A place to explore

As the world moves inexorably towards a more technological future, Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Cultural District, with its mission to showcase the finest art and technology, could hardly afford to remain on the sidelines. In line with its forward-looking ethos, the district will soon host a purpose-built space offering a glimpse into the potential of art: teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi, which will enhance a stellar line-up of world-class venues including Louvre Abu Dhabi, Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. “If you really want to understand something, you need to be able to explore and experience it,” says Takashi Kudo, the communications director of teamLab, a Tokyo-based art collective founded in 2001.

True to this guiding principle, teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi will showcase large-scale artworks and immersive installations designed to inspire curiosity and explore new forms of perception. Each teamLab installation is intended to evolve freely and organically, appearing differently to each fresh pair of eyes and challenging the boundaries of the imagination.

Artistic essence

The 17,000 sq m teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi building is an absorbing artwork in itself. According to Sultan Al Ramahi, senior ideation manager at Miral, Abu Dhabi’s leading creator of immersive destinations and experiences, the building’s architecture transcends traditional boundaries. “The exterior seems indefinite and nebulous, like a cloud, creating a structure where the undefined internal and external forms are unified by the architectural skin,” says Al Ramahi. The inspiration for the design came not only from what he calls the “artistic essence” of Tokyo, with its fascination with technology, but also from Abu Dhabi’s stunning urban landscape and natural topography, where cutting-edge innovation intertwines with tradition.

An enduring legacy of culture

Zayed National Museum

Golden age

All countries need a national museum to make sense of who they are. But there’s an argument to be made that younger nations, particularly those as culturally rich as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), need this most. A history museum has existed in Al Ain for more than 50 years but the Zayed National Museum – soon to open as the crown jewel of Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Cultural District – will tell the story of the UAE through its founding father, HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, as well as archaeological discoveries across six galleries and two floors.

In to the future

This ongoing national story won’t be told solely through audiovisual material. There will be plenty of physical objects too. Some, such as the 2,200-year-old Abiel coin, point to the country’s deep roots; others are more recent, such as a wooden foetal heart monitor used to check pregnancies in the 1960s and 1970s – evidence of the rapid development of medical care in the uae. Underpinning it all are Sheikh Zayed’s values of consensus, unity and progress. “It’s all about where the UAE has been and where it is going,” says Dr Peter Magee.

Lasting impression

“Sheikh Zayed understood the importance of preserving the past,” says Zayed National Museum curator Fatema Al Hammadi. She has been interviewing uae residents to collect more than 100 oral histories about the legacy of the UAE’s first president, who ushered in a period of unprecedented political and economic change. Al Hammadi’s project is open-ended, with more testimonies added over time. “When the Zayed National Museum opens, this will continue through new research,” says the museum’s director, Dr Peter Magee.

Connecting with the natural world

Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi

Sense of wonder

Scheduled for completion in 2025, Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi will add science and wonder to the Saadiyat Cultural District’s awe-inspiring offering of cultural institutions. With scientific exploration in Abu Dhabi dating back far beyond the UAE’s foundation in 1971, Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi will present an extensive panorama of the 13.8-billion-year history of our universe and planet, relying on meteorites, geological samples, fossils and zoological specimens from Arabia and around the world.

Vital position

Many of Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi’s specimens – such as the spectacular seven-million-year-old remains of four-tusked Arabian elephants – are findings of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi). “It’s very satisfying that something we discovered 20 years ago is going on public display,” says Dr Mark Beech, maritime and palaeontology unit head at DCT Abu Dhabi and the museum’s curatorial and scientific lead. “The UAE is in a strategic position, a crossroads for fauna, flora, history and archaeology.”

Teaching platform

The UAE’s strategic geographical position also makes Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi the perfect centre for active scientific research across zoology, geology and marine science to come together. Noora Albalooshi is leading the new museum’s acoustic study of the distribution and interaction between three marine mammals native to local waters: the Indian Ocean humpback dolphin, the common bottlenose dolphin and the finless porpoise. “They are very frequent and you see them often,” says Albalooshi. “Theres a very strong connection to the sea and marine life here.”

That study, along with Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi’s other projects, such as owl research within the protected Wadi Wurayah National Park, also shows its commitment to preserving biodiversity and life on Earth, says Dr Beech. “The museum will teach us how we can be better environmental ambassadors for our planet.”

A brave new world of artistic inquiry

Louvre Abu Dhabi

A new vision

Since Louvre Abu Dhabi opened to great acclaim on 11 November 2017, the museum, with its domed low-slung form designed by celebrated French architect Jean Nouvel, has been at the heart of the Emirati capital’s new vision of cultural openness and artistic innovation. Part of the Saadiyat Cultural District, Louvre Abu Dhabi’s scope ranges across global and regional art history, making it the first such universally-minded museum in the Arab world. It also builds on the historic reputation of its great namesake institution in Paris.

Part of the Saadiyat Cultural District, Louvre Abu Dhabi’s scope ranges across global and regional art history, making it the first such universally-minded museum in the Arab world. It also builds on the historic reputation of its great namesake institution in Paris.

Inspiring future

Louvre Abu Dhabi’s international team of curators and researchers are also dedicated to giving space and support to contemporary art. SoftBank, an installation by Abu Dhabi-born artist Nabla Yahya, is a case in point. Exhibited as part of Art Here, an annual collaboration between the museum and Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille that aims to support art practitioners across the region, Yahya’s winning piece explores lesser-known aspects of the construction of the Suez Canal between 1859 and 1869. Consisting of a stylised stainless-steel map and archive photographs, SoftBank served as a testament to the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s bold curatorial approach – and won Yahya the 2023 Richard Mille Art Prize. Yahya, who describes her practice as an examination of “neglected history”, hopes that her success will be an inspiration to others: “This recognition makes me very optimistic and hopeful for the future.”

Rich collection

Louvre Abu Dhabi’s permanent collection encompasses everything from Islamic artefacts such as a sumptuous page of a medieval Blue Qur’an and Renaissance masterpieces to Ottoman ceramics and – naturellement! – French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, including a Japan-inspired canvas by Paul Gauguin.

To increase engagement, the collection is regularly updated with loans from 19 other French partner institutions and museums. But Louvre Abu Dhabi contains far more than historic objects and the Old Masters.

Welcome to a world of creativity

Saadiyat Cultural District

The museum island

Facing out across the Gulf, the western tip Saadiyat Island currently houses the Louvre Abu Dhabi and will soon be home to no less than seven institutions including key museums such as the Zayed National Museum, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi and teamLab Phenomena. Saadiyat Island will be transformed to narrate the cultural vision of the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Places of dialogue

With three major institutions open and four more set to complete by 2025, Saadiyat Cultural District Abu Dhabi can soon stake its claim as one of the world’s most significant cultural destinations. It will engage in a robust and innovative public programme that will include scholarships, forums and strategic partnerships with diverse communities.

In the words of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi’s chairman, His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Saadiyat Cultural District is a “gift from Abu Dhabi to the world”.

Cultural vision

The Saadiyat Cultural District Abu Dhabi outlines the city’s cultural vision and legacy, from the Zayed National Museum, which celebrates the life and values of the UAE’s founding father and presents an unparalleled collection of art and artefacts, to the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and teamLab Phenomena. The story continues at the culture centres of Manarat Al Saadiyat and Berklee Abu Dhabi.