Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Appoints Dr. Valerie Hillings as Inaugural Director

Dr. Hillings joins the museum after serving as Director and CEO of the North Carolina Museum of Art since 2018, where she oversaw a period of institutional growth, expanded public engagement and strengthened the museum's national profile. Before that, she spent more than a decade at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, playing a central role in shaping the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi project as Head of Curatorial Affairs between 2009 and 2018.

Her appointment comes at a defining moment for Abu Dhabi's cultural landscape. Designed by the late Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will become the largest museum in the Guggenheim network, joining renowned institutions in New York, Bilbao and Venice. The museum will sit at the heart of Saadiyat Cultural District alongside Louvre Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum, Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi and teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi.

Spanning approximately 80,000 square metres, the museum will feature 30 galleries dedicated to modern and contemporary art from the 1960s to the present. Rather than organising exhibitions by geography or chronology, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will present works through thematic narratives that explore artistic exchange across cultures, with a particular emphasis on voices from West Asia, North Africa, South Asia and other underrepresented regions.

Dr. Hillings' extensive experience with the Guggenheim Foundation makes her uniquely positioned to lead the museum into its inaugural chapter. Having helped shape the institution's curatorial vision during its formative years, she now returns to oversee its transition from an ambitious concept to one of the world's most significant new cultural destinations.

Her leadership is expected to focus not only on establishing a world-class museum programme but also on fostering international dialogue, supporting artistic innovation and strengthening Abu Dhabi's growing reputation as a global centre for culture and creativity. The appointment aligns with the Department of Culture and Tourism; Abu Dhabi's broader vision of using arts and culture to drive education, tourism and cross-cultural exchange.

With its opening now just months away, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi represents one of the most anticipated museum launches in recent years. Under Dr. Hillings' leadership, the institution is set to become a platform where global artistic perspectives converge with the cultural identity of the UAE, reinforcing Abu Dhabi's position as one of the world's leading destinations for arts and culture.