He emphasized that the "pandemic" prompted museums to search for alternatives

Director of "Louvre Abu Dhabi": Virtual initiatives have brought us to a wider audience

  • Manuel Rabaté: "The pandemic revealed the importance of art and culture for mental health."

picture

The director of Louvre Abu Dhabi, Manuel Rabaté, confirmed that the future of museums after the "Covid-19" crisis will differ greatly from what was expected before the pandemic, indicating that the pandemic has forced museums to search for alternative means to reach the public, and to accelerate the trend towards launching digital initiatives. Check this communication.

Rabaté added in his interview with Emirates Today: “Of course, this pandemic has had a profound impact on museums in various countries of the world, starting with - but not limited to - the decline in visitor numbers and temporary and permanent closure decisions, to the need to accelerate our digital initiatives. .

He explained, "The museum, by its nature, is often a beautiful building and a place that contains exceptional works of art, aiming to tell stories to its visitors."

Although the pandemic restricted the ability of museums to communicate and interact with their audience, the museum’s mission, and the reason for its existence, has not changed.

Embrace technology

About "Louvre Abu Dhabi" and how it interacted with the crisis and the repercussions it imposed, Rabaté said, "Louvre Abu Dhabi is no different from other museums in this aspect. Entertainment and education for its visitors from inside and outside the country of all ages, in comparison with the pre-pandemic period.

I think that the damage to our work was less, in relation to the need to change the way we work to keep pace with changes quickly and flexibly ».

He continued: “This pandemic forced us to think about how to tell stories of the encounter of cultures at a time when visitors are no longer able to come by themselves to see the exhibits, and how to provide an opportunity for our audience to understand artworks and activate critical dialogue without any kind of physical interaction and any activities on the ground.

The correct answer was technology. Within weeks of the start of the pandemic, we launched several digital initiatives that allow us to continue interacting with our audiences. ”

He pointed out that the beginning of the initiatives was with the partnership with the Anghami platform, as, “We launched a set of music lists that provide an alternative to exploring the museum’s art collection, then launched the Pulse of Time movie, a new 40-minute film produced by the museum that presents a poetic narration of the stories of artworks presented in The museum, in addition to launching the We Are Not Alone tour, which is an audio-visual tour that takes visitors on a journey to the future to explore the museum via the Internet, ”considering that this is only part of the digital presentations,“ as we tried to explore ways in which we continue to provide content and opportunities to interact with the audience, Through digital means, and in the most creative way.

Once the museum reopened, our top priority was to think about the health and safety of our visitors, which remains of the utmost importance to us.

In this context, I am pleased to say that we have taken all possible precautions to ensure that visitors enjoy their time in the museum and feel as safe and comfortable as possible.

New tire

Despite these changes, the director of the Louvre Abu Dhabi ruled out that traditional museums would decline in exchange for the emergence of non-traditional digital forms. Museums should become a mixed place for their audiences, meaning that they combine the physical and digital aspects, according to the symposium organized by the museum in partnership with New York University. Abu Dhabi, for three days, under the title "Museums in a New Framework", with the participation of the most famous specialists in the field from all over the world to discuss the future of museums, specifically in light of the current global scene, in a way that strengthens Abu Dhabi's position as a global city, a center for the region, and a platform at the same time.

The symposium participants also presented many ideas, including the great importance of listening to the opinions of the local audience, as museums became more important in their local communities.

Rabaté explained that the pandemic revealed many things;

Among them is the importance of art and culture for mental health, so the museum has launched an ongoing series to study the impact of art on health and safety.

He also worked on launching yoga sessions under the dome of the museum, through which visitors can meditate and enjoy the calm atmosphere generated by the movement of light and water within the museum's striking design.

He continued: “Our team at the museum has devised a set of ways to continue communicating, educating and entertaining our audiences inside and outside the UAE, in the most creative way through our many distinctive digital initiatives with which about two million users interacted with the Internet.

While we expect actual visitor numbers to decrease in the short to medium term due to global travel restrictions and the continued imposition of health and safety measures, we do not measure our success only through museum visits, as virtual programs and initiatives have allowed us to reach a wider audience globally. More than ever, our focus on our main message remains constant, as we tell stories of the encounter of cultures through exceptional work in our group.

Rabaté praised the museum’s continuing educational initiatives, as education is a major and essential part of its work. The educational programs at Louvre Abu Dhabi aim to serve audiences of all groups, from children and students to adults, teachers and people of determination.

To this end, the museum has launched a number of virtual educational projects, such as e-learning courses for school children, a comprehensive tour of the exhibition "Equestrian Art ... Between East and West", and much more.

He added, "We have also worked on linking schools in the country and abroad through our special program (Voice of Youth)."

Calligraphy and abstraction

Louvre Abu Dhabi today opens the new exhibition season with the exhibition "The Art of Calligraphy and Abstraction ... Toward a Global Language", which is being organized in partnership with the Pompidou Center and sponsored by Didier Otinger, until June 12.

The exhibition is devoted to artistic practices of abstraction, and examines 20th century artists' quest for inspiration in early forms of sign making, especially calligraphy.

It will feature 101 outstanding works of art on loan from 16 collections of partner institutions, seven from the Louvre Abu Dhabi art collection and two massive artworks by contemporary artists whose current artistic practice revives the ongoing major themes of the exhibition.

The Corona pandemic has had a profound effect on museums around the world.

The museum houses exceptional artwork, designed to tell stories to visitors.

Follow our latest local and sports news, and the latest political and economic developments via Google news