Plans have been announced for Dubai’s first art museum, a private initiative called the Dubai Museum of Art (DUMA). Designed by architect Tadao Ando, the five-storey building will be built on an artificial jetty in Dubai Creek and shaped like a curved shell.
The museum is a project from the Al Futtaim Group, a major Dubai conglomerate with a portfolio including car brands, consumer goods and consumer financial services. The model was unveiled at a ceremony attended by high-level Emirati figures, including the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
No timeline has been given for the museum, nor news about how its collection will be assembled. According to press material, the building will comprise galleries on the first and second floors, as well as a restaurant and VIP lounge, and space for art fairs. It was not clear if DUMA might host an existing art fair. Al Futtaim did not respond to request for comment and the Art Dubai Group declined to comment on the museum aside from calling it a welcome addition to Dubai.
Dubai, despite being a key hub within the UAE’s commercial art scene, has never had its own art museum. This private initiative will redress this lack—and is being seen as a charitable donation back to the city by the Al Futtaim family, which has a net worth of around $4.9 billion, according to a calculation this year by Forbes.
Ando’s previous major cultural projects include the Punta della Dogana in Venice, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, in Texas, and the Bourse de Commerce in Paris.