As the winter winds grace the emirates, they bring a breath of art with the upcoming lineup of exhibitions at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. An ambitious lineup that spans centuries and continents, bringing together diverse artistic traditions and perspectives. These exhibitions focus on historic legacies, contemporary expressions, and groundbreaking collaborations with prestigious and acclaimed organisations and names in the art world. This is an effort to cement the museum’s role as a hub for cultural dialogue and artistic discovery.

The season opens with Mamluks: Legacy of an Empire, in partnership with Musée du Louvre and France Muséums. This exhibition will offer a deep dive into the powerful Mamluk dynasty and its cultural influence over its vast territories. Following this, Art Here 2025 and the Richard Mille Art Prize, in partnership with Richard Mille, will highlight the works of contemporary artists based in the GCC and Japan, as well as artists based in the MENA region and connected to the GCC. A major highlight of the season, Picasso, the Figure, organised in partnership with Musée national Picasso-Paris and France Muséums, will explore Picasso’s revolutionary approach to the human form, tracing his engagement with mythological, surrealist, and classical themes throughout his career.

“Louvre Abu Dhabi’s exhibitions embody our commitment to offering visitors enriching and inspiring experiences,” said Manuel Rabaté, Director of Louvre Abu Dhabi. “This season, we are proud to present a compelling dialogue between Eastern and Western artistic traditions, showcasing masterpieces that celebrate cultural heritage and innovation. Through these exhibitions, we reaffirm the museum’s role as a space for meaningful exchange, fostering a deeper appreciation of artistic expression across different cultures and time periods.”

Dr Guilhem André, Director of Scientific, Curatorial and Collections Management at Louvre Abu Dhabi, stated: “We aim to offer a space where art serves as a bridge between cultures, inviting visitors to engage with diverse artistic traditions and perspectives from ancient worlds to contemporary periods. These exhibitions will provide a unique opportunity to explore the connections between different movements and histories, deepening our collective appreciation of creativity and shared human stories.”

Three Ambitious Exhibitions

Mamluks: Legacy of an Empire (17 September 2025 – 25 January 2026)

Mamluks: Legacy of an Empire explores the rich heritage of the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517), a powerful dynasty that ruled for over two and a half centuries. The sultanate controlled a vast expanse of territory, including Egypt, Bilad al-Sham (modern-day Levant), a small part of Eastern Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), and the Hejaz (modern-day Saudi Arabia), which encompassed the most significant Islamic holy sites and made Cairo a hub of international trade linking Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Jointly curated by Dr Souraya Noujaim, Director of the Department of Islamic Arts at Musée du Louvre, and Dr Carine Juvin, Curator of the Medieval Near and Middle East at the same institution, with the support of Fakhera Alkindi, Senior Curatorial Assistant at Louvre Abu Dhabi, the exhibition brings together more than 270 exceptional artworks sourced from 34 museums and cultural institutions across 13 countries. The exhibition offers a comprehensive exploration of the diverse Mamluk society through a remarkable selection of objects spanning calligraphy, arabesques, textiles, metalwork, ceramics, manuscripts, and coinage. It also highlights the Mamluks’ role as active participants in a vast network of international exchanges and sophisticated diplomacy, revealing how interconnected and remarkably cosmopolitan the world was at that time.

Fakhera Alkindi shares key highlights on loan from Musée du Louvre, including Reception of a Venetian Delegation by the Mamluk Governor of Damascus, 1500-1540, and Baptistery of Saint Louis (Syria or Egypt, c. 1330–1340), an exceptional masterpiece that epitomises the height of Mamluk artistry. This extraordinary bronze basin, inlaid with silver and gold, continues to be a symbol of cultural exchange and artistic achievement, reflecting the enduring legacy of the Mamluk dynasty. She also highlights a notable piece from Louvre Abu Dhabi’s collection: Carpet Decorated with Three Medallions, produced in Egypt in the second half of the 15th century, a testament to the taste and prestige that defined Mamluk court life.

Louvre Abu Dhabi Art Here 2025 and the Richard Mille Art Prize (8 October 2025 – 28 December 2025)

The fifth edition of Louvre Abu Dhabi Art Here, in partnership with luxury Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille, currently showcases site-specific contemporary artworks that represent the best of regional and international talent. Curated by Swiss Japanese curator Sophie Mayuko Arni, this year’s theme, Shadows, explores the interplay of light and darkness, drawing inspiration from both Japanese and Arabian Gulf artistic traditions. The exhibition invites contemporary artists to reimagine these influences through monumental works displayed beneath the museum’s iconic dome and across its expansive external spaces, reflecting on how shadow and light shape architectural and cultural narratives.

Six shortlisted contemporary artworks by seven artists are currently on display, responding thoughtfully to the Shadows theme. These works explore the layered dimensions of memory, identity, and transformation, strengthening cross-cultural dialogue between the region and artistic practices from around the world. One of these outstanding artists will be awarded the prestigious Richard Mille Art Prize in December 2025, with a provisional budget of up to 100,000 AED for artwork production and installation, underscoring the institution’s commitment to supporting bold contemporary practice.

Picasso, the Figure (21 January – 31 May 2026)

In partnership with the Musée national Picasso-Paris and France Muséums, Picasso, the Figure explores Pablo Picasso’s evolving depiction of the figure and encompasses various techniques such as painting, sculpture, and drawing. This exhibition offers visitors a rare insight into the artist’s continuous experimentation with the human form across different periods of his career, from the early 1900s to his later years.

Jointly curated by Cécile Debray, President of Musée national Picasso-Paris, Virginie Perdrisot, Chief Curator and Head of Sculpture, Ceramics and Giacometti Furniture at Musée national Picasso-Paris, and Aisha AlAhmadi, Senior Curatorial Assistant at Louvre Abu Dhabi, the show offers a rare insight into the artist’s continuous experimentation with the human form across different periods of his career. Key highlights include paintings from Louvre Abu Dhabi’s collection, such as Woman with a Mandolin (Miss Léonie Seated) (1911), an exemplar of Cubist experimentation, and Portrait of a Seated Woman (Olga) (1923), which reflects the neoclassical phase that followed the trauma of the First World War. These works are complemented by exceptional loans from Paris, including Woman Sitting in Front of the Window (1937), which reflects the dramatic tensions of the years leading up to Guernica. Together, these pieces offer a cross-sectional reading of Picasso’s production, demonstrating how the figure is never static but constantly redefined, deformed, celebrated, and deconstructed.

A Season of Cultural Resonance

As the winter season unfolds across the Emirates, these three exhibitions transform Louvre Abu Dhabi into a convergence point for global artistic conversation. From the warrior-sultans of the Mamluk era to the restless experimentation of Picasso, and the contemporary voices reshaping artistic boundaries, this season affirms the museum’s vision of art as a universal language.