Today's Edition
SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)
Louvre Abu Dhabi has announced the first cohort of five scholars selected for its newly- launched Fellowships and Grants Programme.
The researchers were chosen from 173 international applications to advance original work in art history, archaeology, museum studies, heritage science, as well as conservation.
Designed to promote inclusive, cross-cultural scholarship, the programme offers both short- and long-term residencies for researchers.
These fellowships give scholars access to the museum’s world-class research facilities and collections.
Their projects are anchored around three thematic pillars: the global history of museums and collections, the circulation of styles and images, and the movement of precious materials across cultures.
Aletihad spoke with the selected research fellows as they begin this inaugural cycle.
Short-term fellow Rhomaillessa Talhaoui (Morocco/France), a Université Paris Cité graduate, is researching “The Transimperial Circulation of Early Pictures of Mecca” (1880–1920).
Her work traces how early photographs of Mecca circulated across empires and challenges Western-centric readings of this visual history.
“My research opens new perspectives through its advocacy for a more nuanced approach to history, seeking to move beyond rigid and reductive binary models of understanding. Mecca is at the same time a well-known and misunderstood place, which I would argue is because it has been treated as an “out of time” place, rather than being integrated into the analysis. As a result, it becomes more of a symbol, a mystified place that escapes interpretations and outside influences,” she said.
Talhaoui shows how early photographs place Mecca within shifting social, political and global histories.
“Even as a sacred place, Mecca has to be studied through the broader historical context it continuously exists in: social, political and cultural dynamics, as well as the regional transformations that connected the Hijaz to different global networks.
“Thus, early photography provides an opportunity to bring Mecca back into the centre of conversations about modernity, cultural memory and narratives, along with the shifting power structures that conditioned who could see, record and circulate images of Mecca.”
Talhaoui hopes the project will show that even modest devotional photos of Mecca can become meaningful history when we look at them with care.
“My project encourages viewers to look beyond the surface of images, to ask who created them, under what circumstances, and for whom.
Ultimately, it invites the public to rethink how small, seemingly ordinary traces like photographs, but also everyday practices and stories, can shape how people see themselves and one another, as well as how political and historical contexts have shaped the images and narratives we inherit.”
Long-term fellow Mizuho Ikeda (Japan/UK) is studying how Hindu and Buddhist artworks are displayed at Louvre Abu Dhabi and in museums across Asia and Europe.
Her project, “Universal Museums and Religious Diversity”, looks at how different audiences engage with these sacred objects in a global, multi-faith context.
“My research aims to offer a fresh perspective on the display of global art, particularly religious heritage, by examining how the Louvre Abu Dhabi, situated in the Middle East, can evolve beyond the modern museum framework shaped by enlightenment thought and Eurocentric traditions, while still embracing the ideal of a 21st-century ‘universal museum’ that seeks to narrate a shared human story.”
Ikeda’s project compares how Hindu and Buddhist art is displayed in different regions and how visitors respond to it, aiming to develop more inclusive “universal museum” practices that still respect local cultural and religious contexts.
She noted that her work aims to spotlight the richness of Global South perspectives in museum studies.
“This project positions the Global South not as a peripheral actor, but as an essential partner whose distinct perspectives and practices open up new possibilities for global museum studies.”
Ikeda stresses that the project treats Global South museums as equal partners, whose expertise is vital for rethinking universal museum models worldwide.
Helena Barranha (Portugal), a short-term fellow, focuses on how Louvre Abu Dhabi’s architecture is represented, reinterpreted, and circulated, especially through social media.
Her project, “The Multiple Images of a Cosmopolitan Museum”, looks at how visitors see the museum as a space for cultural encounters and how digital tools, including AI, shape these evolving perceptions.
Reflecting on how her project celebrates cross-cultural exchange, she said: “Since the dissemination of its architectural project, the foundational concept of ‘universal museum’ has paved the way for the creation of a cultural institution which actively promotes cultural diversity and exchange - combining the tradition of Arab and Islamic architecture with a critical reinterpretation of Western Museum architecture.”
Her research also shows how digital tools and online content can creatively reinterpret iconic museums and offer more diverse perspectives on art, architecture and museum spaces.
“There is no doubt that contemporary culture is intrinsically linked to digital technologies. Moreover, cultural institutions all over the world are using technologies as a means to democratise the access to their collections and reach broader audiences.”
Further, Barranha wants to study how AI reshapes images of the museum and hopes her work will inspire other institutions to treat social media visuals as part of their architectural and cultural record.
