ABU DHABI, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The iconic Louvre Abu Dhabi museum will open to the public on Nov. 11, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on Wednesday.
Mohammad Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and head of the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), made the announcement at a press conference.
The 97,000-square-meter museum is the first of three TDIC museums to open on the Saadiyat Island.
"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," said French Culture Minister Francois Nyssen.
The museum was built under an agreement signed between Abu Dhabi and France in 2007. It was designed by Jean Nouvel, a French architect who won the Pritzker Prize, a top award in architecture.
"The Louvre Abu Dhabi and its universal story embodies the spirit of openness and dialogue among cultures, displaying works of historical, cultural and sociological significance from different times and civilisations," the TDIC said.
The museum is in fact a "museum city" in the sea comprising a contrasting series of 55 white buildings.
Its defining feature is an 180-meter wide eight-layered dome, which weighs 7,000 tons, that covers the majority of the complex. Called Rain of Light, the dome has about 4,500 tube lights attached to its steel structure to light it up in night.
In addition to 23 permanent galleries in 12 sequences, it also includes a temporary exhibition space, a children's museum, an auditorium and retail space.
The museum has a 600-piece permanent collection as well as 300 artworks loaned from 13 key French institutions, including paintings by Leonardo da Vinci's and Edouard Manet.
