Louvre Abu Dhabi Converts Its Highways into a Unique Art Gallery Experience

The Middle East is a treat for all things grand, unique and luxurious. Louvre Abu Dhabi, which opened its doors on November 11, is unique in its very essence because it claims to be the “universal museum in the Arab world”. However, to the problem with UAE was that there population and even their tourists are not very ardent “museum-goers” nor do they expect such a devoted art expression from the culture of UAE. This is where the idea was born to bring a unique, art gallery experience to the people of Abu Dhabi by using billboards and radio advertisements.

Simply put, the idea is to place 10 renowned and beautiful art pieces alongside the highway which connects Dubai to Abu Dhabi, called the EE/11 Sheikh Zayed stretch, having a footfall of around 13000 commuters per day. When a vehicle approaches these billboards (which are essentially huge paintings), the drivers tuned into 100.5 FM, 91.6 FM or 95.8 FM will hear their usual radio broadcasts changed to the narration of the story of the painting they so passed. This is possible with the help of solar panel powered FM jammers. So you are essentially visiting a highway art gallery with your tour guide for the exploration being the FM channels.

Curated by TBWA\RAAD, this outdoor effort is no less than “work of art”. They have efficiently used technology and sentiments to draw out, what can be called, a least interested population. The insight of the campaign was that if they can’t generate traffic in their art museums, why not take the art museums to the traffic? And it worked. People were tempted to see what the highway had to offer and their radio insights further build the curiosity. The highway gallery was accessible as a part of the UAE Innovation Month till March 14. The portraits displayed on the billboards included ancient masterpieces, Renaissance paintings and modernist artworks as well.

The museum isn’t stopping in its endeavors anytime soon. Louvre Abu Dhabi is further planning collaborations with its French museum partners to have four unique exhibitions, as a part of governmental agreements. They are truly taking art beyond the four walls of a museum and making it accessible to the public at large.

Website: https://www.louvreabudhabi.ae/

Credits:
Walid Kanaan
TBWA\RAAD, Dubai, Chief Creative Officer
Fouad Abdel Malak
TBWA\RAAD, Dubai, Executive Creative Director
Brittany Sinde
TBWA\RAAD, Dubai, Copywriter
Clayton Needham
TBWA\RAAD, Dubai, Art Director
Alex Pineda
TBWA\RAAD, Dubai, Associate Creative Director
Joe Lahham
TBWA\RAAD, Head of Client Service
Angie Deliva
TBWA\RAAD, Dubai, Account Director
Albane Valtier
TBWA\RAAD, Dubai, Account Executive
Remie Nehme
TBWA\RAAD, Dubai, Strategic Planning Director
Rouba Asmar
TBWA\RAAD, Dubai, Head of Production
Mohammad Alkawas
TBWA\RAAD, Dubai, Design Finalizer
Camilo Rojas
TBWA\RAAD, Dubai, Motion Designer
Hazem Atieh / Ezzat Habra
TBWA\RAAD, Creative Services Managers
Sagar Mirchandani
Rama International, Project Director
Wafa Tajdin
Rama International, Producer
Amirah Tajdin
Rama International, Director
James Addey
Rama International, Director of Photography
Ameya Gupta
Rama International, Editor
Abdullah Dayem
Rama International, Radio technical lead
Mickdad Abbas
Rama International, Road Safety
Saad Khan
Rama International, Deployment lead
Tony Hertz
HERTZ Radio, Audio and Sound Design Specialist

This article is related to:
UAE, Innovation, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Travel, Radio, Radio 1 FM, Classic FM, Emarat FM, Creativity, Technology, Abu Dhabi, Leonardo da Vinci, La Belle Ferronnière, Piet Mondrian, Road Safety, Middle East