The Role of the Museum in the Age of Virtual Communication: The Louvre Abu Dhabi as a Modern Phenomenon

Скачать pdf
Альманах
Key words
Louvre Abu Dhabi, Museum of the Digital Age, Explosive Space, Social Media, Visual Practices
Author
Elvina F. Ryazanova
About the Author
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1860-4163
E-mail: elvinaryazanova@gmail.com
Tel.: +7 (495) 938-08-51
32a, Leninsky av., Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation
PhD in History, Researcher, Ural and Volga Region Department, N. N. Miklukho-Maklay Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology
Received
Date of publication
DOI
https://doi.org/10.26158/TK.2025.26.4.013
Body

This article examines the Louvre Abu Dhabi as a new museum of the digital age. It analyzes the functions and role of the museum in the digital context, using the Louvre Abu Dhabi as a case study. The contradictory conditions of contemporary societyglobalization processes and the development of digital technologies that make cultural heritage more accessible, yet at the same time increase dependence on the virtual environment-lead to transformations in the ways humans relate with art. Particular attention is given to the question of how social media transmit and amplify the perception of the museum. The analysis is based on the author’s observation of tourists’ behavior, specifically their active reproduction of images through photography and video recording. The study identifies the Louvre Abu Dhabi as a “museum of the digital age” in which the physical space of the exhibition is organically integrated with virtual forms of representation. It concludes that Jean Nouvel’s architectural design and the symbolic universality of the museum create conditions for its perception as a space open to people of any ethnic background. The study suggests the possibility of applying these ideas to further studies of media practices in museums, as well as to the development of strategies for cultural communication in the context of digitization.

References

Akimova Ye. A. (2015) Blizhnevostochnoe nasledie i traditsii v sovremennoi arkhitekture arabskikh Ehmiratov [The Middle Eastern Heritage and Traditions in Contemporary Architecture of the United Arab Emirates]. Vestnik Sankt-Peterburgskogo universiteta. Iskusstvovedenie [Bulletin of St. Petersburg University. Art Criticism]. 2015. No. 1. Pp. 122– 133. In Russian.

Bennett T. (1995) The Birth of the Museum: History, Theory, Politics. London: Routledge. In English.

Davidson C. (2013) Abu Dhabi’s New Economy: Oil, Investment and Development. URL: http://www.mepc.org/journal/middleeast-policy-archives/abu-dhabis-new-economyoilinvestment-and-domestic-development (access data: 05.09.2025). In English.

Duncan C. (1995) Civilizing Rituals: Inside Public Art Museums. London: Routledge, 1995. In English.

Falk J., Dierking L. (2000) Learning from Museums: Visitor Experiences and the Making of Meaning. AltaMira Press. In English.

Komissarova Ye. A. (2017) Sokhraneniye kul’turnogo naslediya i traditsiy OAE v sovremennoy arkhitekture muzeyev ostrova Saadiyat [Preserving the UAE’s Cultural Heritage and Traditions in the Contemporary Architecture of Saadiyat Island’s Museums]. Sovremennaya arkhitektura mira [Contemporary Architecture of the World]. 2017. No. 8. Pp. 169–180. In Russian.

Kuklinova I. A. (2013) Luvr Abu-Dabi: universal’nyi muzei v arabskom mir [The Louvre Abu Dhabi: A Universal Museum in the Arab World]. Voprosy muzeologii [Questions of Museology]. 2013. No. 1 (7). Pp. 156–162. In Russian.

Riding A. (2007) The Louvre’s Art: Priceless. The Louvre’s Name: Expensive. URL: http://www. nytimes.com/2007/03/07/arts/design/07louv.html (access data: 05.09.2025). In English.

For citation

Ryazanova E. F. The Role of the Museum in the Age of Virtual Communication: The Louvre Abu Dhabi as a Modern Phenomenon. Traditional Culture. 2025. Vol. 26. No. 4. Pp. 156–166. In Russian