Dr. Valerie Hillings appointed inaugural director of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi announced that Dr. Valerie Hillings will serve as the inaugural Director of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. Hillings previously worked on the museum project from 2009 to 2018 as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation’s Curator and Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs, collaborating on collection strategy, acquisitions and pre‑opening programming. She later directed the North Carolina Museum of Art, where she expanded the collection and doubled annual attendance.

The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, located in the Saadiyat Cultural District alongside institutions such as the Louvre Abu Dhabi, will occupy a Frank Gehry‑designed building with 30 galleries covering 11,600 m² of interior space and an additional 23,000 m² of outdoor exhibition areas. The museum aims to be “rooted in Abu Dhabi and connected to the world,” showcasing modern and contemporary art from the 1960s onward.