The British Museum loves the idea of cultural partnerships – but only when they are the ones dictating the terms. Despite repeated rejections in the past of the concept of being part of a joint curatorship of the New Acropolis Museum, they are now happy to follow the Louvre’s lead & set up an outpost in Abu Dhabi. The benefit of this will be that people in the Arab world may be able to see items from the British Museum’s vast Middle Eastern collection, but one has to wonder why the idea of outposts in some locations (which coincidentally have large mounts of money & are not requesting the return of artefacts) is acceptable, whereas in other countries similar proposals are not even up for discussion.

From:
The Times

July 26, 2009
British Museum treasures head for Abu Dhabi
Richard Brooks, Arts Editor

THE British Museum has struck a multi-million-pound deal to help launch a museum in the Middle East designed by Lord Foster.

In its biggest overseas venture, the institution will be unveiled tomorrow as the official partner of the national museum of Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich Gulf state. The new building will sit alongside offshoots of the Louvre and the Guggenheim museums.
Read the rest of this entry »

The Universal Museum concept has not been without its critics. Now it seems that (where large sums of money are involved), artefacts can move from one such institution to another, but the possibility of returning them to their original owners is an entirely different issue that should never be considered.

From:
Modern Ghana

STOLEN ART OBJECTS FROM ONE “UNIVERSAL MUSEUM” – LOUVRE PARIS TO ANOTHER – LOUVRE ABU DHABI?
By Dr. Kwame Opoku
Sun, 29 Jun 2008
Feature Article

Although the Art Newspaper published the details of the arrangements on Friday, 27 June, 2008, the contract between Abu Dhabi and France on the creation of Louvre Abu Dhabi was signed last year. See Tom Flynn, Getting ahead in the sand: universal museum in the age of neo-liberalism

If you ever thought there was no money in the museum business and that museums dealt only with artefacts and dead bodies, as one lady told me, the news below should make you reflect. You will perhaps realize that the so called “universal museums” are making huge profits from their stolen art objects. Not only do they keep their entrance fees (where this is required) but also charge for the use of images of the stolen objects by way of copyright. They also sell the expertise they develop through their possession of thousands of objects from all over the world and indeed charge some of the deprived countries for supplying knowledge about their own culture. The report below shows that the Louvre is reaping huge benefits from Abu Dhabi for the use of the name “Louvre”. Part of the fame of the Louvre surely comes from its possession of stolen art made possible by French imperialism. The French boast of using their expertise in building a “universal museum” in this part of the world. One cannot deny the undoubted expertise and experience of the French in establishing a “universal museum”.http://www.archives.premier-ministre.gouv.fr. The financial obstacles outlined in Universal Museum Starter Kit may not apply here but what about the legal and political objections?
Read the rest of this entry »