Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Unveils Pre Opening Talks & Workshops

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi just launched a month-long public programme of talks, performances and workshops across cultural institutions in the capital ahead of its opening on December 11th, 2026, with events at Manarat Al Saadiyat and Louvre Abu Dhabi.

Running from September 25th to October 22nd at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Network of Answers is an interactive installation by Guggenheim Abu Dhabi–commissioned artist Agatha Gothe-Snape. It invites the public to respond to a series of questions via a phone booth to build a collective archive of voices from Abu Dhabi. No registration is required. From September 25th to 27th, the same venue will host Art Appears: Chant Avedissian, a pop-up series of talks, workshops and interactive activities focused on the late Egyptian artist’s reinterpretation of cultural icons and collective memory. On September 29th at Louvre Abu Dhabi, artist Rachid Koraïchi will join curator Abdelkader Damani for Abstractions: A Journey Between Islamic and Contemporary Art, a conversation on abstraction across cultures drawing on calligraphy, geometry and contemporary practice.

The museum said further talks, activations and outreach initiatives across the UAE will follow the September programme, as part of a broader calendar building towards its opening. Designed by architect Frank Gehry and located in Saadiyat Cultural District, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will span 11,600 square metres across 28 galleries, alongside 23,000 square metres of exterior exhibition space. The museum is a collaboration between the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.