Louvre studies its UAE market

ABU DHABI // Researchers are running 11 focus groups to ensure that the Louvre Abu Dhabi lives up to the expectations of its visitors when it opens in about three years, WAM, the state news agency, reported yesterday. The focus groups, drawn from visitors to the Talking Art: Louvre Abu Dhabi preview exhibition at the Emirates Palace hotel, are helping to give the planning team a feel for the artistic tastes of potential audiences, the way they like artefacts displayed, their preferences in written information and their views on the subject matter of different artworks.

Emirati schoolchildren will also be asked for their views, as will teachers and expatriates. "As with all of the institutions being developed in the Saadiyat Island Cultural District, the overriding goal of the Louvre Abu Dhabi is education," said Rita Aoun, the director of culture at Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development and Investment Company. "This survey is part of our ongoing effort to engage all members of our audience respectfully and productively, so they can get the greatest benefit from the Louvre Abu Dhabi."

asafdar@thenational.ae