Abu Dhabi Government to Guide Guggenheim Branch

ABU DHABI—The government of Abu Dhabi will oversee acquisitions for the Guggenheim branch to be built there, reports the New York Times.

Staff from the Guggenheim Museum in New York will make recommendations for acquisitions and commissions of modern and contemporary art for the museum, but a committee appointed by the city, capital of the United Arab Emirates, will control the process.

Guggenheim Foundation director Thomas Krens told the Times he’s comfortable with the arrangement, which resembles that with the branch in Bilbao, Spain. The museum, designed by Frank Gehry and expected to open in five years, will be part of the Saadiyat Island Cultural District, which also includes the Louvre Abu Dhabi.