Louvre Abu Dhabi’s second international exhibition of the year, ‘Stories of Paper,’ has officially opened to the public, according to a statement released by the museum on Wednesday.
The exhibition, launched by Chairman of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism Mohamed Khalifa al-Mubarak, is set to run until July 24.
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Organized by Louvre Abu Dhabi in partnership with Musée du Louvre and France Muséums, the exhibition discovers the variety of artistic expressions of paper, with the purpose of encouraging richer knowledge of a familiar, and increasingly versatile material.
The exhibition includes the collaboration of 16 French and international institutions and private collections, will explore a vast range of artistic expressions of paper, aiming to cultivate the visitor’s knowledge of a familiar material in the digital age.
About 100 artworks and objects from 16 museums, cultural institutions and private collections will be on display. These include books, manuscripts, drawings, a reproduction of a house and 13 contemporary artworks and installations made of paper.
“With the emergence of digital transformation and the dematerialization of our haptic experiences, it makes sense for Louvre Abu Dhabi, a universal museum, to celebrate paper as a common yet precious good,” Mabuel Rabate, Director of Louvre Abu Dhabi, said in a statement.
“From books, manuscripts and drawings to contemporary art works or installations made of paper,’ Stories of Paper’ retraces a chronological history of this single universal medium, considering the usage and key characteristics of paper such as transparency and robustness to provide an original perspective on the use of paper throughout time and across the different regions,” he added.
The exhibition will also include pieces by prominent Emirati artists and pioneers of Emirati conceptual art Hassan Sharif, Abdullah al-Saadi and Mohammed Kazem.
“A special thanks goes to Musée du Louvre, France-Muséums and all the international lending institutions and private collections who have helped in bringing this exhibition to fruition,” Rabate added.
The exhibit will look at the ways in which paper was utilized in various cultures and will include a program of wide-ranging cultural activities. An online talk and a recorded podcast by the exhibition’s curators will be available on the museum’s official website and mobile application, for the public to explore it virtually.
Louvre Abu Dhabi to hold cine concert
Louvre Abu Dhabi will also hold a cine-concert on May 4 which will feature contemporary electronic experimental music from the Arab world, and a silent film classic ‘The Adventures of Prince Achmed’.
A series of films featuring paper as a medium will be screened on May 5: Kubo and the Two Strings, featuring a 12-year-old Japanese boy earning his living by magically manipulating origami with music. The film will be followed by three short films (The Dot, Sky Color, and ISH), inspiring kids to create their own dots, squiggles and much more. A sketching session for children and families will be held as well.
‘Stories of Paper’ will include a selection of loaned artwork from Musee du Louvre, Musee Guimet, Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Centre Pompidou, Bibliotheque Nationale et Universitaire de Strasbourg, Bibliotheque Sainte-Geneviev, Sharjah Art Foundation, Zayed National Museum, and Goesan Museum, alongside the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s permanent collection, Musee du Louvre’s director Laurence de Cars revealed.
“[The exhibition] fuses contemporary works from Arab and European art scenes, such as Labyrinth by the great Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto – a piece which confirms paper’s perpetual importance to mankind. This is precisely where the essence of Louvre Abu Dhabi lies – in its ability to bring together diverse collections that would probably not have had the opportunity to interact anywhere else but in Louvre Abu Dhabi.”
in Louvre Abu Dhabi.”
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