From the United States to China and the United Arab Emirates, 2024 promises to be a year rich in museum openings. Here is a selection of new cultural institutions scheduled to open in the coming months.
The Nintendo Museum, Kyoto, Japan
It’s surprising that a museum dedicated to Nintendo hasn’t seen the light of day sooner, given its contribution to Japan’s global influence. But “Mario” and “Zelda” fans will be pleased to hear that such a site is slated to open this year.
The museum – which will be housed in the Nintendo Uji Ogura Plant, one of the company’s oldest factories in Kyoto – is structured around several galleries that retrace the brand’s history in the gaming sector.
Console prototypes will be on display alongside limited-edition figurines and “hanafuda”, the traditional Japanese cards sold by the company before it entered the video-game business.
Nintendo has not given an exact date for the opening, although construction is due to be completed in March. For fans, this means it will be worth traveling to Japan for the Nintendo Gallery and Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Tokyo.
The Universal Wine Museum, Beijing, China
Historically more partial to beer and strong spirits, China is nonetheless a wine-loving country. Oenophiles there will soon be able to visit the Universal Wine Museum, which is expected to open in the Fangshan district on the outskirts of Beijing in May.
This 18,500-sq-m museum is largely inspired by the Cité du Vin in Bordeaux, France, although it focuses more on the history and culture of wine in China. It will comprise five exhibition spaces, covering themes such as vines, wines and essences, and there will also be an auditorium, restaurant, and wine school.
The Universal Wine Museum aims to bring together all those involved in the wine industry, as well as wine lovers – from China or elsewhere – seeking to learn more. An exact opening date is yet to be announced.
The Zayed National Museum, United Arab Emirates
Since 2016, the UAE has been working on the opening of the Zayed National Museum. This art establishment, designed by Norman Foster, is topped by five steel wings reminiscent of falcon wings, a national symbol and emblem of the United Arab Emirates.
The institution’s name pays homage to Sheikh Zayed Sultan Al Nahyan, founder and historic leader of the UAE.
Visitors will be able to learn about the history and culture of the federation through a collection of works of art and antiquities yet to be unveiled. Still, the museum’s oldest piece is known to be a fossil of a rudist clam, a species of mollusc that has been extinct for millennia.
The Zayed National Museum will be located on Saadiyat Island, a stone’s throw from the Louvre Abu Dhabi. This cultural district will also be home to the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi when it is completed.
The authorities have not yet announced the exact opening date, although it is expected to be set by the end of the year.
The Studio Museum, Harlem, United States
The Studio Museum pays tribute to Black culture and the artists of African descent who foster and drive its vitality. First opened in 1968, the museum will soon be housed in a brand-new 7,600-sq-m building, designed to blend seamlessly into the Harlem landscape in New York.
Visitors will be able to admire over 9,000 works of art in all four corners of this new six-storey building, with experiences extending beyond the official galleries.
Creative studios for artists in residence, spaces dedicated to educational activities, an auditorium, and a terrace have also been fitted out to make the Studio Museum in Harlem a place for all kinds of encounters.
This art establishment is due to open its doors in the coming months, although an exact opening date has not yet been announced.
The Grand Egyptian Museum, Cairo
It will have taken 10 years – and over a billion dollars – to build the Grand Egyptian Museum, just a stone’s throw from the pyramids of Giza. Designed in 2003 by the architectural firm Heneghan Peng, the new museum spans 490,000 sq m with multiple parks, gardens and fountains.
It will house over 100,000 works of art and artefacts, 50,000 of which are on permanent display in a chronological sequence stretching from prehistory to the Greco-Roman period.
But the highlight of this vast collection is the treasure of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, which will be displayed in its entirety for the first time since the discovery of the Egyptian king’s tomb in 1922.
The Grand Egyptian Museum is due to open by the end of the year, after repeated delays. It will be the world’s largest museum dedicated to a single civilisation.