Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Announces an Opening Date
The long-awaited Frank Gehry-designed museum will open its doors on December 11, 2026
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will officially welcome visitors beginning December 11, 2026, the Department of Culture and Tourism announced this week. The Frank Gehry-designed landmark museum houses 30 galleries across an interior connected by a central atrium and ten sculptural cones. Gehry’s designs, realized through stainless steel, mesh, onyx, glass, and more, are part of the immersive visitor experience.
“Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is a defining moment in our cultural journey,” said Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Abu Dhabi’s chairman for culture and tourism. “The museum is shaped by the emirate’s long-held conviction that culture is the most enduring bridge between peoples and a building block for forward-looking societies.”
Located in Saadiyat Cultural District, the museum will “create transformative new opportunities for learning, creativity, and cultural exchange, inspiring future generations to explore their own potential,” he continued. “Here, everyone belongs and can see themselves reflected in the stories the museum tells, engaging with ideas and artistic voices from across the world.”
With its central location, the museum joins a roster of impressive institutions in the area, including Louvre Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum, Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, and more. The galleries will show modern and contemporary art from the 1960s through the present day, including paintings, photography, sculpture, and new media.
“The museum’s art collection is uniquely local and global, centered in the region but with works from all continents,” said Dr. Mariët Westermann, Director and CEO of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. “Through the many stories it will tell and invite, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will be a source of wonder, a hub of connection, and a place of curiosity and joy for people from the United Arab Emirates and the world.”
The designs for the museum, a collaborative partnership between the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism, were first unveiled in 2009. The structural complexity of the design, labor disputes, the pandemic, financial strains, and other unforeseen obstacles delayed the $1 billion build.