Nomadic utopia: will Dubai’s many worlds ever find a common cultural identity?

In November 2017, the magificent, spotted Louvre Abu Dhabi finally opened. The museum has courted controversy from the get-go, not least because the Abu Dhabi government has reportedly leased the iconic French brand for the enormous sum of €400m for 30 years.

To those following the cultural development of the region, however, the expenditure is no surprise. Abu Dhabi is following in the footsteps of Dubai – a city experienced at planting Western cultural cuttings into its Middle Eastern soil.