UAEU Organizes a Universal Museums Lecture: From Enlightenment to Abu Dhabi

The Libraries Deanship at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority recently organized a lecture entitled, ‘International Museums: from the enlightenment age to Abu Dhabi’ as part of the third series of the Louvre Abu Dhabi: dialogues on the arts. These lectures aim to form a bridge between different civilizations and their histories using the city of Abu Dhabi as a crossroads for communication as it makes significant moves to preserve its own, and international, cultural heritage and history.

Professor Dr. Hasan al Naboodah, Dean of University Libraries, delivered a welcome speech underlining the enthusiasm of UAEU to host such meetings that help to bring together interested parties in the antiquities and museums field. Since the inauguration the Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island, such artistic and aesthetic expressions have reflected the UAE’s central role in promoting dialogue between diverse civilizations and cultures.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi was built as a result of an agreement between the governments of France and the UAE in order to display artwork, manuscripts and other historical, cultural and social artifacts.

The lecture was held in the crescent building of the UAEU campus and brought together the novelist and academic Waciny Laredj and Jean-François Charnier, Director of Agence France Muséums. They discussed the Greek Sphinx, acquired by the Louvre Abu Dhabi recently, and the significance of this statue in symbolizing the geographical links, trading routes and cultural exchange between the civilizations of Ancient Egypt, the Near East and Greece. These two experts discussed the evolution of the very concept of international museums, the cultural and intellectual context underpinning the emergence of global museums containing collections representing civilizations from every corner of the globe and showcasing the arts, sciences and history common to every culture.

Jean-François Charnier argued that the Greek Sphinx statue represents a typical example of the proliferation of diverse cultures in the Ancient World and the cultural exchanges between different civilizations. Possession of such a work of art helps to define the Louvre Abu Dhabi as an exceptional example of a universal museum.

They also spoke about the many interesting antiquities and artifacts displayed in the museums and of future plans to expand this cultural area and make Abu Dhabi a major site of international and local cultural heritage.