Buying Culture

Others objected to the idea of imposing culture on a glittering desert oasis that bears far more resemblance to Las Vegas than to Florence. The Egyptian commentator Youssef Ibrahim mocked Abu Dhabi's pretensions: "Even the fabulously oil-rich cannot buy that yearning of the mind and soul called culture with a fistful of dollars," he wrote in The New York Sun. The Arab News columnist Abeer Mishkhas lamented that Abu Dhabi is "buying the souls" of others rather than building its own identity. Cachin questions who will ultimately benefit from the riches on Saadiyat Island: "Who is this really for—the poor Pakistanis on the construction sites?"

Saadiyat Island's proponents scoff at such complaints. D'Haussonville argues that much of the criticism is "shameful, close to xenophobia or just anti-Arab." Besides, says Pitte, promoting art has always required flush backers. "Don't people understand that we have Michelangelo and Donatello because the Medicis were so rich?" he asks. Officials at the Louvre argue that the benefits of the new branch will far outweigh the drawback of diluting the museum's collections. "The money will restore France's capacity to acquire pieces on the international market," d'Haussonville says.

And Saadiyat's boosters argue that the museums and universities could help reverse the U.A.E.'s somewhat tawdry reputation. Krens believes the Middle East is ripe for a highbrow renaissance. "Look at the great cultural cities of the region—Cairo, Damascus, Baghdad. These cities were doing it way before the Europeans had cultural centers," he says. "Are there any rules that cities in the Middle East can't attain that status again?"

In fact, some believe that investing in cultural institutions in the U.A.E. will help stabilize and modernize the whole region. "The U.A.E. is surrounded by countries that would rather blow up a Guggenheim than build one," says Jane Bristol-Rhys, an anthropology professor at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi. "If East and West can't mix in the [relatively liberal] U.A.E., then where can they?" D'Haussonville is confident that the Emiratis aren't merely trying to acquire something; they're trying to change attitudes and encourage local talent. "It is an investment in their future," he says. So far the signs are promising: when the Sorbonne imported 10,000 books for the Saadiyat branch's library last year, says Pitte, "[despite] all the pictures of nudes, there was no problem." The Sorbonne is also the only academic institution in the U.A.E. that doesn't have a prayer room—one of Pitte's demands in keeping with the school's secular principles.

The Emiratis are hopeful that their embrace of high-profile Western schools and museums will eventually yield an organic national culture. "By bringing in these international institutions, we are creating interest in the arts," says the ADTA's al-Muhairi. The French agree, which is why they've leased the Louvre's name for only 30 years; by the time the lease expires, they reason, Abu Dhabi will have built up its own collections. Locals seem sanguine that the bet will pay off. "We are all celebrating the birth of Saadiyat Island," says Huda Kanoo, director of the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation. "When different cultures meet, something new—something exciting—will certainly emerge." And everyone profits from that.

© 2007