Guggenheim Abu Dhabi has appointed Valerie Hillings as its inaugural director.
Set to open its first location in the UAE on 11 December, the new museum is situated within the growing Saadiyat Cultural District.
Designed by the late architect Frank Gehry, the museum has been in the making for two decades and will showcase modern and contemporary art from the 1960s to the present.
Designed by the late architect Frank Gehry, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi has been in the making for two decades
As the museum's first director, Hillings will lead the museum’s strategic direction and oversee its inaugural exhibitions and programmes.
She said: "I am honoured to return to Abu Dhabi to complete the once-in-a-lifetime journey of founding and opening Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, a museum developed in the United Arab Emirates by colleagues from both the region and around the world.
"I look forward to welcoming local and global audiences to the magnificent Frank Gehry-designed building and inviting them to explore points of interconnection and unique stories through the lens of art from the 1960s to our time."
Hillings is already familiar with Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, having served as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation's curator and associate director of curatorial affairs for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi project from 2009 to 2018.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is located within Abu Dhabi's expanding Saadiyat Cultural District, home to world-class cultural institutions
In the role, she worked closely with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi on the museum's collection strategy, acquisitions, pre-opening programme and the development of the building.
Before that, Hillings spent five years as part of the Guggenheim's curatorial staff in New York.
Since 2018, she has served as director of the North Carolina Museum of Art, overseeing the redesign of its permanent collection galleries, expanding the collection by around 400 works, and helping to double annual attendance to 1.2 million visitors.
Images courtesy of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi
