Six Artists Take Over the Louvre Abu Dhabi Dome for Art Here 2026
A letter from Kerala, paper clouds and garments suspended over water. Art Here turns the Indian Ocean’s shared history into six installations under the dome.
yapped Editors · Nov 11, 2026 · 3 min read
Quick facts
- Dates
- 11 Nov 2026–28 Feb 2027
- Where
- Louvre Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island
- Admission
- AED 70 adult; eligible free categories
- Gallery hours
- Tue–Thu 10am–6.30pm; Fri–Sun 10am–8.30pm
- Closed
- Mondays
A letter from Kerala to a husband working in Abu Dhabi. Cloud-shaped letters hanging overhead. Sailors' clothes caught in motion without anyone wearing them. This is not your usual museum walk.
Art Here 2026: Confluences opened on 11 November at Louvre Abu Dhabi. Its six installations sit around the museum's waterside plaza and beneath Jean Nouvel's dome, taking the centuries-old relationship between the Gulf and the Indian Ocean as their starting point.
Three Works to Look Out For
Start with Reena Kallat's Shorelines of Longing. The Indian artist uses a wife's letter, marble panels, old radios and cassette players to explore what migration means to the families left at home. Before video calls, voices and messages crossed the Arabian Sea in the hands of people making the journey.
Look up for Ravikumar Kashi's Meghadutam, where handmade-paper clouds carry patterned messages inspired by correspondence between Indian families and relatives living in the Gulf.
Then seek out Almaha Jaralla's Daria Dawlat. The Emirati artist suspends forms made from traditional sailors' fabric over water, suggesting movement, absence and the maritime lives behind the trade routes.
The other artists bring different materials to the conversation: Saudi artist Ahaad Alamoudi, Indian artist Vivek Vilasini and Malaysian artist Shamin Sahrum. There are large-scale structures, oversized vessels and woven objects, all made to be encountered in the setting rather than viewed as small pieces behind glass.
“These aren't just stories of trade. They're stories of families, language and the things people carry between places.”
Why This Edition Matters
Curator Kamini Sawhney has called the exhibition Confluences, looking at how goods, ideas, language and people moved between places that were never as separate as the map makes them look.
There is a particularly good way to explore it. The museum's Spices and Wonders: Sailing the Indian Ocean traces historical maritime exchange through objects and artefacts. If you visit by 14 February 2027, see Spices and Wonders first, then walk out to Art Here. The contemporary works give those routes something more personal. Spices and Wonders closes two weeks before Art Here.
Art Here is also part of the Richard Mille Art Prize, with one of the six artists due to receive the award later in the season.
Tickets, Dates and Visiting Hours
The exhibition runs until 28 February 2027. Regular Louvre Abu Dhabi admission is AED 70 for adults, and includes exhibitions and the outdoor spaces beneath the dome. Under-18s and eligible visitors have complimentary admission.
Museum galleries and exhibitions open Tuesday to Thursday, 10am–6.30pm, and Friday to Sunday, 10am–8.30pm. The museum is closed Mondays. The dome stays open later, but do not confuse that with exhibition access.
See the Art Here event on yapped or book admission directly with Louvre Abu Dhabi.