Significantly expanding Abu Dhabi’s cultural infrastructure
Project: Saadiyat Cultural District Abu Dhabi
In 2006, the government of Abu Dhabi announced plans to develop a monumental cultural district on Abu Dhabi’s 27-square-kilometre Saadiyat Island. The new Saadiyat Cultural District, has become home to architecturally striking world-class museums, cultural institutions, arts schools and more. This new cultural infrastructure should help the city increase annual global visitor numbers to 39.3 million, up from 24 million in 2023, in line with its Tourism Strategy 2030.
Today, Saadiyat Cultural District stands out as one of the most unique destinations in the world. It’s home to Manarat Al Saadiyat, an arts and culture centre, Louvre Abu Dhabi, a museum designed by Pritzker Prize-winning French architect Jean Nouvel, top schools including Berklee Abu Dhabi and Cranleigh Abu Dhabi, and the Abrahamic Family House, an interfaith complex featuring a mosque, a church, and a synagogue, which opened its doors in 2023.
By the end of 2025, Frank Gehry’s long-anticipated Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, the Zayed National Museum, the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, and teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi will open. These institutions will offer abundant opportunities to foster creativity, education, and personal enrichment, ensuring every visit, for everyone, is both memorable and transformative.
Unlocking the power of creativity in a dedicated Cultural District
The interactions taking place in these institutions are not just educational; they empower young people to embrace values of mutual understanding and respect. By fostering critical thinking and cultivating creativity, these new cultural infrastructures will create civic places that serve as lifelong learning platforms, teaching, guiding, and supporting them as they deploy the power of creativity to carry forward the legacy of Saadiyat Cultural District for generations to come.
The district will solidify Abu Dhabi’s role as a nexus of cultural innovation and dialogue, profoundly impacting the UAE and beyond. Saadiyat Cultural District is a testament to Abu Dhabi’s commitment to preserving the UAE’s heritage while embracing a forward-looking vision through significant cultural infrastructure investment. It will foster cultural diversity, global connections, cultural exchange, and new ways of thinking to support the region and the global South.