Emirates News Agency – Louvre Abu Dhabi ends first edition of ‘University Takes Over Museum’ plan

ABU DHABI, 9th March, 2023 (WAM) — Louvre Abu Dhabi today concluded the first edition of its “Universities Take Over Museums” program. As part of Louvre Abu Dhabi’s fifth anniversary celebrations, a group of 32 university students and alumni (under the age of 25) gathered under the museum’s iconic dome to present a series of engaging workshops, digital interventions and live performances.

The program launched in August and the campaign kicked off in November, with hundreds of students from across the UAE answering the challenging question ‘What does it mean to be human?’ Participants are asked to design an experience or work that appeals to one of the museum’s primary audiences (children, families, youth or adults) by explaining the museum’s collections, message and core values.

The museum received 20 proposals from students at various participating universities, including Zayed University, Emirates University and NYU Abu Dhabi. The 18 proposals, which echo Louvre Abu Dhabi’s story as a cosmopolitan museum celebrating shared human creativity, were selected to be presented during the museum’s first ‘Universities Take Over the Museum’. To date, more than 3,000 museum visitors have participated and been exposed to the students’ work.

During the takeover, museum visitors were able to enjoy a range of programs such as Tales of Pottery Paintings, workshops by Mezna Mohamed Alzaidi, Mazoon Habreesh Alkatheeri, Tasneem Taha Albaiti; Everyone Is an Artist, an interactive installation led by Kyle Adams; I -denti-Y, a fascinating performance led by Lujza Reova; Art and Glissantian, a relational multimodal performance by Matthew Tan, Grace Shieh and Binaya Pauldyal; Real Art Digital Interactive Challenge The rise of AI-generated art led by Aakarsh Singh and Corban Villa, Also Unheard, recordings of real conversations by Klaithem Salim Aljabri.

A new version of the University Takeover Plan is coming soon.