Stephanie Rosenthal Appointed Director of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Museum Now Targeting 2025 Opening

Stephanie Rosenthal is departing her role at Berlin's Gropius Bau to become director of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, a project first agreed upon in 2006 between the UAE capital and New York's Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Construction on Frank Gehry's 42,000 square meter design began in 2011 but stalled amid controversies over labor conditions on Saadiyat Island, a site planned for multiple museums including Louvre Abu Dhabi. The Gulf Labor Coalition, advocating for migrant worker rights since 2010, called for a boycott over alleged systematic labor law violations, which the Guggenheim denied. The museum's opening, originally slated for 2017, is now projected for 2025. Rosenthal will co-lead the institution with Maisa Al Qassimi, though she won't install exhibitions for at least three years. Her recent Berlin program featured shows by Otobong Nkanga and Zheng Bo exploring humanity's relationship with nature, extraction, and repair, continuing themes from her 2016 Sydney Biennale curation on technology and displacement. Previously, Rosenthal served as chief curator at London's Hayward Gallery.