Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism has announced Lebanese art historian and curator Souraya Noujaim as the new director of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. She succeeds founding director Manuel Rabaté, who departed from the institution earlier this year to helm the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in New Delhi.

Born in Beirut, Noujaim brings several decades’ worth of scholarly and leadership experience to the role. With a PhD in Islamic art history and archaeology from Paris Nanterre University, she previously headed the Department of Islamic Arts and the French Grand Department of Islamic Art Heritage at the Louvre in Paris. There, she oversaw more than 18,000 Islamic artworks, and curated several traveling exhibitions, including “From the Louvre: Masterpieces of Islamic Art” (2026) at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, and “Mamluks: Legacy of an Empire” (2025) at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. 

Noujaim’s appointment marks a return to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, where she served as the inaugural scientific, curatorial, and collections management director from 2018 to 2023, helping to shape the museum’s vision and collection. “Louvre Abu Dhabi holds a special place in my professional and personal journey,” Noujaim said in a press release. “I look forward to working with our teams, partners, and communities to build on this legacy, deepen our engagement with audiences, expand and enrich our collection, and explore new ways of making art and culture accessible, relevant, and inspiring for all.”

Harison Butler is an editorial intern at ArtAsiaPacific.