Children under 13 years old can enter the museum for free

  ABU DHABI – Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority chairman Mohammad Khalifa Al Mubarak announced on Wednesday that the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum on Saadiyat Island will open on November 11.
Al Mubarak, who also chairs the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), made the announcement in a press conference that was attended also by Louvre Abu Dhabi director Manuel Rabaté; Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development; Louvre architect Jean Nouvel; Jean-Luc Martinez, president of the Louvre Museum in Paris; and French minister of culture Françoise Nyssen. It's been 10 years, eight months and 250 days since the signing of an inter-governmental agreement that kicked off the museum project. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed said in a tweet in Arabic, English and French that the museum's opening on November 11 would boost the UAE's global cultural presence. Minister Nyssen, for his part, said: "The establishment of such a museum is a landmark in the history of art and shows the commitment (of the UAE and France) to peace and diversity." The 97,000-square-metre Louvre Abu Dhabi is the first of three museums that will be built on Saadiyat Island. It will be followed by the openings of the Zayed National Museum and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. The Louvre Abu Dhabi was originally set to open in 2012 but the museum's opening was pushed back to late 2014 and then to late 2016. The Louvre Abu Dhabi will have 23 permanent galleries in 12 sequences. Aside from the art galleries, the museum includes a temporary exhibition space, a children's museum, a 200-seater-auditorium, a restaurant, café, and retail space, reports said. About 300 artworks from 13 key French art centers like the Louvre Museum, the Musée d'Orsay and the Centre Pompidou in Paris will be on display during the opening year, including Leonardo da Vinci's La Belle Ferronniére, which will leave Europe for the first time to become the first painting by the Renaissance artist to be exhibited in the Middle East. Other loaned paintings that will be displayed at the Louvre Abu Dhabi include Claude Monet's La Gare Saint-Lazare and a self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh. The museum's 600-piece permanent collection as well as the loaned artworks will form an art historical narrative taking the visitor from ancient times to the contemporary, reports said. Meanwhile, ticket prices of the Louvre Abu Dhabi are: Dh60 for adults, Dh30 for 13-22 years, and Dh30 for education professionals. Children who are 13 years old and younger, members of the museum's loyalty programme, International Council of Museums members, members of the International Council on Monuments and Sites, journalists, visitors with special needs and their companions can enter the museum for free. GAC/Expat 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