Guggenheim Abu Dhabi to open on Dec 11 2026

Designed by the acclaimed architect Frank Gehry, this will be his largest Guggenheim — with a builtup area of 80,000 sqm consisting of a cluster of ten sculptural cones. It joins a growing community of museums and cultural institutions in Saadiyat Cultural District, including Louvre Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum, Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, and teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi, positioning the district as one of the world’s most significant concentrations of cultural institutions. Part of the Guggenheim constellation of museums in New York, Venice, and Bilbao, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi brings a distinct identity shaped by Abu Dhabi’s legacy, in a region that has been at the crossroads of culture and trade for millennia.

Dr. Mariët Westermann, Director and CEO of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, said: “The Guggenheim Foundation is proud and delighted to be a longstanding partner with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi in shaping a museum of contemporary art of magnificent scope and aspiration. The museum’s art collection is uniquely local and global, centred in the region but with works from all continents.”

Spanning a wide range of artistic media including painting, sculpture, installation, photography, moving image, and new media, the museum presents art as a dynamic and evolving conversation across time and place. The building features 30 galleries that unfold across the interior, connected by a central atrium and ten sculptural cones that punctuate the building’s dynamic skyline. Nine are clad in stainless steel mesh and one in onyx and glass. The museum was announced on July 8 2006 and construction first began in 2011. Unfortunately, the museum’s architect and designer, Frank Gehry, will not be at the inauguration as he died on December 5 2025.

Since 2009, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi has been building a growing collection of modern and contemporary art that will reflect and advance Abu Dhabi’s role as a catalyst for creative production and innovation in the arts.