3月26日，在亚洲青年领袖论坛中国—阿联酋青年领袖对话会上，阿联酋阿布扎比卢浮宫文化项目经理阿利雅· 沙姆西发表了主旨演讲。

Alia AlShamsi says museums were never built to become mausoleums

On 26 March, Alia AlShamsi, cultural programming manager at Louvre Abu Dhabi, delivered a keynote speech at the China and UAE Dialogue between the Youth Leaders of the Asia Youth Leaders Forum. Following is the full text of the speech.

Good afternoon. My name is Alia AlShamsi. I’m the cultural programming manager at Louvre Abu Dhabi, and it is a privilege and honor to be here today with all of you. If you allow me, as an Arab – we are storytellers – I would start with a very short story.

The brush glided. Amidst the sand, a white fragment shone. He held it closer, observing the drawings on what was once a plate. This plate – currently at Louvre Abu Dhabi – was discovered in Julfar, today’s Ras Al Khaimah, with a team from both Ras Al Khaimah and Beijing, which actually highlights the relationship between the UAE and China from the Ming Dynasty. It’s believed that – if you can see the details of this plate – it may perhaps be a diplomatic gift that was received from China 700 years ago. 

As I mentioned, Louvre Abu Dhabi is home to many loans from around the globe, including many from Asia. One of the most important exhibitions that we held – we made it happen during COVID– is a Dragon and Phoenix, which was an exhibition about the relationship between China and the Islamic World. 

As you can see, this is the museum. It’s in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Jean Nouvel, an architect, created this stunning art piece within itself, inspired by the Arab medina. As you can see, at the very top it’s the dome, where he was inspired specifically by the Al Ain Palm Oasis with the palm fronts creating this rain of light. So, you can see the light coming through into the museum at different times of day. 

This is one of our galleries, an example of the different artifacts and artworks that we have from across the globe. As you can see, the artifacts are side by side, which is all about cultural dialogue and universalism of humanity, which is what we are initiating. 

This is from the Dragon and Phoenix exhibition. We had a few loans that came from China as well. Again, an embodiment about the relationship between China and Islam.

Now we come to the youth part of it. The youth is at the core and the heart of Louvre Abu Dhabi, where we bring in culture, the contemporary, the pop, and the new and we celebrate it all together. With cultural programming, we will have a DJ, poetry recitation, and different types of performances.

But my key message is that museums were never built to become mausoleums but living spaces created for those to continue to tell the story of the world and to contribute to it. Our youth are at the heart of it all at Louvre Abu Dhabi, a place where they can gain knowledge, find inspiration, and carve a space to call their own.