Louvre Abu Dhabi has appointed Dr Souraya Noujaim as its new Director, bringing back an art historian who played a key role in developing the museum’s collection and curatorial vision as the institution prepares for its 10th anniversary in 2027.
The appointment was announced by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi on October 7, nearly a decade after the museum opened in 2017. Since its launch, Louvre Abu Dhabi has significantly expanded its permanent collection. While only about 30% of the works displayed at the opening were owned by the museum, nearly two-thirds of the artworks across its four chronological worlds are now part of its collection.
Noujaim returns to Abu Dhabi after serving as Director of the Department of Islamic Arts at the Musée du Louvre in Paris and Chief of the French Grand Department of Islamic Art Heritage. In those roles, she was responsible for a collection of around 18,000 Islamic artworks.
Her new responsibilities will cover the museum’s broader strategic development, including acquisitions, research, conservation, education, public engagement, visitor experience and institutional growth.
Noujaim has a long association with Louvre Abu Dhabi. She contributed to the institution’s early intellectual and curatorial development and became its first Scientific, Curatorial and Collections Management Director in February 2018.
Until April 2023, she oversaw the museum’s curatorial activities and played a role in strategic acquisitions that helped strengthen its permanent collection.
Welcoming her return, Noujaim described Louvre Abu Dhabi as an institution with a special place in both her professional and personal life. She said her priorities would include further developing the collection while strengthening connections with audiences in Abu Dhabi and around the world.
Her appointment comes at an important stage for the museum, which is approaching its first decade and preparing to build on the collection, research and public engagement infrastructure established since its opening.
