Louvre Abu Dhabi launches highway art gallery with billboards and audio guides

Louvre Abu Dhabi has inaugurated a highway art gallery along the E/11 Sheikh Zayed Road connecting Dubai to Abu Dhabi. Ten billboards featuring masterpieces from the museum's collection have been installed, including the Mari-Cha lion, the Egyptian sarcophagus of Princess Hentuttawy, Leonardo da Vinci's La Belle Ferronnière (on loan from the Musée du Louvre), a Van Gogh self-portrait (on loan from the Musée d'Orsay), and a Piet Mondrian composition. In partnership with Abu Dhabi Media Company, three radio stations—Radio 1 FM (100.5 FM), Classic FM (91.6 FM), and Emarat FM (95.8 FM)—broadcast 30-second audio clips about each artwork as cars approach the billboards. The initiative aims to make art accessible beyond the museum walls and to attract both local audiences unfamiliar with art and international tourists. Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Abu Dhabi, stated that the Highway Gallery offers a unique audiovisual experience to stimulate imagination and appreciation for art. The opening of Louvre Abu Dhabi in November 2017 featured 600 accredited journalists and was followed by the $450 million auction purchase of Salvator Mundi. Abu Dhabi seeks to position itself as an innovative and technological global destination, leveraging culture to compete with Dubai.