'Desert Louvre' sealed for delivery

DESERT ICON: The Louvre will form the cornerstone of a vast cultural complex on the island of Saadiyat.

Abu Dhabi's "desert Louvre" moved a step closer to reality on Monday as French and Emirati officials sealed a deal to bring the iconic name, and its tourist pulling power, to the Gulf.

Under the 30-year agreement, Abu Dhabi will pay 400 million euros ($525 million) for the Louvre brand name and for hundreds of artworks loaned from the Paris museum for periods of between six months and two years.

Emirati Tourism Minister Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al-Nahayan hailed the deal as "an historic step" which will boost ambitious plans for a vast cultural and tourism complex being developed on an island off Abu Dhabi.

"The Louvre is the cornerstone for our Saadiyat cultural project. Without the Louvre we would not have the courage to plan such a huge project," Sheikh Sultan said.

The accord was signed by Bruno Maquart of France-Museums and Sheikh Sultan, in his role as head of the Tourism Development and Investment Authority running the project.
French Culture Minister Christine Albanel also attended the ceremony in the Emirati capital.

The French Museums Agency - comprising representatives from the Pompidou Centre, the Musee D'Orsay and France's National Library - will provide expertise in restoration, curatorship and design. A training action plan for UAE nationals will be rolled out within the next year, with training sessions being held in France and Abu Dhabi.

The agency was set up to oversee the development of the project and help counter accusations in France that the Louvre was "selling its soul" by loaning out its prized collections overseas.

Nearly 5,000 people, including dozens of museum directors, curators and art historians, have signed a protest petition.

The French parliament approved the plan last October despite criticism from opposition socialists and communists who decried it as a commercial gimmick that will only deprive the Louvre's 7.3 million annual visitors in Paris.

The deal is part of a broader one-billion-euro cooperation agreement with the French museums agency that will see artworks travel from Paris to the Gulf when the branch opens in 2012.

The museum will be housed in a 24,000-square-metre (260,000-square-foot) building designed by French architect Jean Nouvel. Work will shortly begin on the design and engineering phase of the project, with the imminent appointment of an engineering consultant to work in collaboration with the architect.

Encouraged by the Louvre deal, France is now eyeing the possibility of further cooperation with the oil-rich Gulf state.

Albanel, who flew over the still-desertified project site in a helicopter Monday, said she had raised with Emirati officials the possibility of further cooperation in the fields of music and archaeology.

"We would be very happy to see our expertise taken into account in these areas," the French minister said.
The head of Paris' Cite de la Musique, Lauret Bayle, was part of the French delegation at the signing ceremony.

Officials said a draft plan to develop other museum projects had been submitted to the Emiratis, though the details have not been made public.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is one of five museums to be built on Saadiyat island in the Gulf, a vast complex of luxury hotels, golf courses, marinas and private villas set for completion in 2018. Other projects include the Sheikh Zayed National Museum, to be designed by the UK’s Foster & Partners; the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi contemporary arts musem – the world’s largest Guggenheim and the only one in the Middle East, conceptualised by Frank Gehry; a performing arts centre designed by Zaha Hadid, a maritime museum with concept design by Tadao Ando and a number of arts pavilions.

The complex is part of Abu Dhabi's plans to secure a larger slice of the Gulf's booming tourist industry.

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