Manuel Rabaté

A Louvre Museum, in the desert! as an idea, was first dreamed out loud by Sheikh Zayed before the United Arab Emirates was even created. Fifty years later, November 8, 2017, saw the inauguration of the Louvre Abu Dhabi! Jean Nouvel’s architectural design already singled out the building’s emblematic characteristics. The Arab world’s first Universal Museum is a testament to the intellectual curiosity of the Emiratis. Two years before the signing of the agreement between France and the UAE, on March 6, 2007, Sheikh Abdallah ben Zayed Al Nahyane, the Emirati Minister of Culture, called for "a Louvre like the Louvre in Paris, with nudes, Christs, Jewish artists, Persian miniatures, all the globally admired masterpieces. “ All these treasures now have a place at the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

Naturally, Jacques Chirac, the French President, and Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE President, were the strongest advocates for the establishment of the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi. The respective government’s Ministers for Culture and Foreign Affairs for each country, also put up a brisk campaign for the establishment of a universal museum in the UAE capital - Jack Lang and Zaki Nusseibeh - firm lobbyists on the world cultural scene, used all their influence to sweep away reluctance and hesitation.

But the undeniable success of the Louvre Abu Dhabi is not limited to these personalities, one also needs to salute HE Mohamed Al Mubarak, President of the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi (DCT) and Rita Aoun Abdo, the Executive Director (DCT). These two visionaries saw the great tourist potential of Abu Dhabi as a global cultural hub. Mohamed Al Mubarak and Rita Aoun-Abdo gave real establishment clout to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, by supporting this new and unusual idea from the beginning. Above all, they imagined one of the largest cultural projects in the world nestled on Saadiyat Island, of which the Louvre Abu Dhabi is just the first step.

Finally, it would be unfair not to highlight the talent employed by Manuel Rabaté, who has led the Louvre Abu Dhabi brilliantly from day one. This 45- year-old human sciences enthusiast from Dijon in France, fully grasped the brief and the mission: he cut his teeth at the Louvre in Paris and contributed to the opening of the Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, in Paris (2006), where from its home on the banks of the Seine, Manuel Rabaté assumed the role as Deputy Director in the Cultural and Exhibitions Department. He grew along with the job. So naturally his name came up for the Louvre Abu Dhabi project... 

Floating over the water like an island, the Louvre Abu Dhabi with its immense metal dome stands out like a picture-postcard landscape, attracting a flurry of interest on Instagram and in Manuel Rabaté’s trajectory we encounter a man who knows the meaning of the word universal and its full import in a world where knowledge and understanding are the only possible future. 

What are your assessments since the inauguration of the Louvre Abu Dhabi? Nous avons ouvert deux fois le Louvre Abu Dhabi : lors de son inauguration et après la pandémie de la Covid. La première fois, nous avons connu l’audace et le dynamisme d’une naissance. La seconde fois, nous avons serré les dents en mode résilience. Mais nous sommes toujours restés positifs. Nous avons réussi à maintenir la vision universaliste du Musée. Nous avons continué à développer les prêts, notre collection, les expositions et la recherche. Outre le bilan, il est important d’afficher les perspectives. 

On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, one of the largest Impressionist exhibitions ever held outside of Europe was announced…

The Louvre Abu Dhabi has joined forces with the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, in fact, to present an extraordinary impressionist exhibition: “Impressionism: Pathways to Modernity", from October 12, 2022, to February 5, 2023. This exhibition will present more than one hundred and fifty works, as well as engravings, costumes, films, and photographs. These objects illustrate the reasons why Impressionism was seen as a radically new phenomenon in the 19th century. Art lovers will be able to admire the works of Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Paul Cézanne. 

Nevertheless, local artists will also be honoured with our second edition of the exhibition competition, entitled "Louvre Abu Dhabi Art Here", sponsored by Richard Mille…

Has Covid and pandemic-related digitization changed the way the museum is run?

The relationship with the Museum has indeed changed. We leveraged technology to triumph over Covid without denying our quality or cutting off our ambitions. The acceleration of technological change is a path of no return. Our digital footprint is increasingly important. The Louvre Abu Dhabi is a place where we relay physical and connected stories about humanity through works of art. “We are not alone", our science fiction audio-visual film experience, met with a great success during Covid. It was performed in Arabic by the Emirati singer Hussain Al Jassmi, the English version was by actor Willem Dafoe and the actress Charlotte Gainsbourg performed the French version, the journey invited you to discover the Louvre Abu Dhabi through these voices, to understand its history, its impact, and its meaning in a post-human galaxy. We are currently working on version 2 of “We are not alone” and contemplating some new digital tools especially for children. Our education strategy incorporates technology more than ever. 

Covid has also made it possible to bring visitors closer to the environment… 

When the museum reopened after the pandemic, we tried to use the positive energy of our venue with its meditative architecture to listen to our visitors. Thus, we organized yoga classes and kayak trips around the museum. It was a way of taking the time to communicate with the museum, its architecture, its light.

One should clarify straight away that the Louvre Abu Dhabi is not a French museum. This is an Emirati museum. Personally, I am proud to be French and I am proud to work for the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT). Half of our collaborators are Emirati. This is a very enriching experience. It soon becomes obvious indeed that the Louvre Abu Dhabi does not serve the interests of one country more than the other. There is total equality, a perfect exchange. This desire of double influence as a kind of mirror effect was initiated by the Minister of Culture Zaki Nusseibeh, one of the founders of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Through it both countries have made headway in international relations and their power of influence. We’re obviously talking about soft power. On the French side, the Louvre Abu Dhabi amplifies the influence of France as a cultural force. In the United Arab Emirates’ corner, it proves that Abu Dhabi is the capital of a country connected to the world, a country capable of inviting the world into its home, a country capable of telling the universal history of the world, a country that is part of world history, a country capable of upholding tolerance and respectful values for all religions. 

Does the Louvre Abu Dhabi need to exhibit iconic works to attract visitors? This is the first universal museum in the Arab world to open the totality of world knowledge. The Louvre Abu Dhabi unfolds 12,000 years of history. How can one focus on such a long period if the works don’t transport you? Obviously, to tell this history and understand civilizations, to evoke and invoke the different cultures, we need strong works to tell a strong history.

What are the three most emblematic works, those that touch you the most?

My favourite is the Bactrian Princess, which comes from a region straddling the current states of Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The little figurine is one of the most beautiful in the world, clad in a delicate woollen dress. She is very majestic and represents a major deity from Central Asian mythology. I must confess that I have three little girls and we often go to visit the little Bactrian Princess. Next, I must mention the monumental lion. Exceptional in size and function, it is one of the most important medieval works in the Islamic tradition from the Mediterranean region. At the crossroads between East and West, it is usually attributed with Hispano Islamic origin. Its cousin is the Andalusian Griffon of Pisa, a unique animal statue that is comparable. Its style, associated with Arabic inscriptions, expresses the attraction and particular role played by Islamic Art in the Mediterranean at the end of the 11th and early 12th century. Finally, I want to draw attention to the piece by Mondrian. This is the Collection’s premier artwork. And it is more than a symbol. It is a composition from 1922 that takes us to the heart of the radical aesthetic of the Dutch painter who is recognized as one of the pioneers of abstract art. He works the light by simplification. And he arrives at abstraction through light. The style and shapes almost seem to be mirrored by Jean Nouvel’s geometric architectural design for the building. When we had just completed our viewing of the Mondrian and exited the Museum, we were surrounded by the resonance and the magic of the light that bathes the architecture. 

And if you had to mention an ephemeral work...

A gold funeral mask from 10th century Philippines is on display in the first showcase dedicated to anthropology. It is a major item in the permanent exhibition on gold and is on loan from the Philippine Ayala Ethnographic and Archaeological Museum. We are proud that this caught the attention of the Filipinos living in the United Arab Emirates and those that benefitted from holiday visits. At the Louvre Abu Dhabi, each visitor can resonate with their own history. This is our ambition and our mission.

When they are not acquired, the works presented at the Louvre Abu Dhabi are generally loaned by French partner museums…

In parallel with the collection built by acquisition, we have a very successful loan policy with French partner museums: the Louvre Museum, the d’Orsay and the Orangerie, the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, the French Bibliothèque Nationale, the Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts, the Palace of Versailles, the Rodin Museum, the Cluny Museum-Museum of the Middle Ages, the Musée des Arts décoratifs, the Musée d’archéologie-Saint Germain-en-Laye, the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon, the Musée des Armées des Invalides and the Centre Pompidou. We wanted to draw the whole history of humanity from all the four corners of Paris into one place: Impressionism from the Musée d'Orsay, the 20th century at Centre Pompidou, the royal collections from the Palace at Versailles; artifacts from Africa, Oceania and the Americas from the musée du quai Branly and Asia from the Musée Guimet. Obviously, we also maintain close ties with museums in the United Arab Emirates. We are presenting a collection from the seven Emirates to represent the union in our own way. Hassan Sharif’s work shown at the “Histoires de papiers” exhibition, was loaned by Sharjah Art Foundation. 

The up-coming Bollywood Superstars exhibition (January 25, 2023 - June 4, 2023) organized in collaboration with the Musée du quai Branly, reaffirms the dynamism of your partnerships…

Indeed, through important works from Indian cinema, we are going to tell the mythology of Hindu India through its divine trinity as well as that of Islamic India. Our ambition is not only to seduce the resident Indian community within United Arab Emirates but also Arabs who are Bollywood enthusiasts!

How do you choose your exhibitions?

It's a long journey. We have a good deal of discussion with l’Agence France - Muséums (AFM) and the French museums. The cultural programming must make sense and find points of connection between the Arab world and the Western world.

Is the Louvre Abu Dhabi an art initiation museum?

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is not an art initiation museum: it is a place to satisfy one’s curiosity and understand humanity. 

The incredible breadth of the cultural project at Saadiyat Island is very fortunate for the Louvre Abu Dhabi…

We will indeed expect a level of critical size and phenomenal interconnection. Remember the Louvre Universal Museum is the first one to open in the Uniteda Arab Emirates and will show the way to other museums. The Abrahamic 

Family House, musée interreligieux dédié aux trois religions monothéistes, pousse déjà derrière nous et répond en écho à nos combats pour l’acceptation de nos différences et la fraternité humaine. Si on ajoute un musée d’art moderne et contemporain, le Musée Guggenheim Abu Dabi et un musée national qui racontera l’histoire des Emirats arabes unis, le Zayed National Muséum, l’offre culturelle sera exceptionnelle.  

Three sacred books of monotheistic religions are displayed side by side. This is a strong symbol of Islamic Enlightenment in the United Arab Emirates.… The message is one of tolerance, openness, balance, respect, understanding and especially acceptance. Acceptance is much stronger than tolerance. Because we can still tolerate people we don't like. The sacred book is like a place to receive the beauty of the divine. And it is really the commonality between the religions that allows us to understand religious phenomena. 

The Louvre Abu Dhabi licensing agreement has been extended for ten years, until 2047. Obviously, you welcome this decision… 

It is indeed a strong sign of confidence, especially since the first ten years of the license were used for the preparatory phase of the project. It is an act that commits us and invites us to reinvent our relationship with French museums.