I attended the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s Fifth Anniversary Gala Dinner on Monday 14th November 2022. It was a fantastic evening featuring speeches by His Excellency Mohammed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi, and Chairman of Louvre Abu Dhabi, and Her Excellency Rima Abdul Malak, Minister of Culture, France.

The Gala Dinner was prepared by the French chef, Pierre Gagnaire TT, Fouquet’s Abu Dhabi. The dessert called ‘Reminiscence’ was made by the Emirati pastry chef, Sahar Parham Al Awadhi, and was amazing. It was described as “Served on a bed of cracked rice phitni scented with rose and cardamom. Yuzu and rose compressed pear surrounded by opalys chocolate puffed rice, served with ginger and pear gelato under a rice milk veil”!

Musical entertainment was provided by the Emirati singer, Rashed Al Nuaimi. The artist Jenny Holzer created a large-scale light projection entitled “Birthday”, featuring extraordinary words by poets, artists and others from the region and beyond. The texts contemplated the mystery, struggle, intensity, and joy inherent to stories of creation across time and space while evoking contemporary themes from the Middle East’s blossoming art scene.