Representatives of the British Museum have concluded a cooperation agreement under which they undertake to help in the formation of the National Museum in Abu Dhabi

Representatives of the British Museum and of Tourism Development & Investment, is building tourist facilities in Abu Dhabi, announced the conclusion of a cooperation agreement to build a national museum in Abu Dhabi for 10 years. Under the terms of the contract, the British Museum as one of the project partners, will assist in the formation of a new management organization, as well as serving as a counselor on a variety of issues: from design and construction to muzeografii, training and supervisory programs. In addition, the museum will provide for the exhibition in Abu Dhabi valuable items from their collections and help in the preparation of exhibitions.

The National Museum in Abu Dhabi will be named Zayed National Museum in honor of Sheikh Zayd ibn Sultan al-Nahyan (Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan) - the first President of the UAE federation, formed in 1971. The museum will be built on the island Saadiya neighborhood with branches Paris Louvre and the New York Guggenheim Museum. According to preliminary estimates, all three institutions to attract some 1.5 million visitors a year. Opening Zayed National Museum is scheduled for 2013, the entrance for visitors will be free.

The author of the new museum building, which takes an area of 12 thousand square meters, will become a famous architect Norman Foster (Norman Foster). His project he described as the «oasis - an island of tranquility in the bustle of museum quarter of the island Saa'di».

If the branch museum of the Louvre and Guggenheim will be devoted to Western art, the exhibition Zayed National Museum will mainly objects connected with the history of Abu Dhabi and the UAE. Visitors will be able to see the archaeological finds that will help them better understand the geography and ancient culture of the region. The museum will consist of five galleries with exhibits on the following topics: environment, cultural heritage, unity, education and filantropizm. Each, in turn, will evolve in three areas: local, regional and international.

It is anticipated that the exhibition will also include artifacts from the British Museum Department of the Middle East, where the largest in the world, not to mention Baghdad, a collection of cuneiform tablets, consisting of 130 thousand texts and text fragments. Also, it is possible that the temporary exhibitions and the British Museum, for example, last year's exhibition dedicated to the Roman emperor Adrian, and also will move to Abu Dhabi.

material produced Catherine Onuchin, AI

Source: timesonline.co.uk , thenational. ae , artinvestment.ru