When Cinema Enters the Museum

Some museums organize film series. Others use cinema to tell the story of art. The Louvre Abu Dhabi belongs to the latter. With Art in Motion - Summer Film Screenings Inspired by the Louvre Abu Dhabi Collection, the museum presents a curatorial experiment that transforms the big screen into an extension of its galleries. Each film is paired with a work from the permanent collection, inviting audiences to look at both through an unexpected dialogue. The selection is far more than a family-friendly summer program. Aladdin is paired with an exquisite Islamic medallion carpet, evoking the rich tradition of Middle Eastern decorative arts. WALL-E is presented alongside Jean Tinguely's kinetic sculpture Press "orange a+b", linking the film's reflection on technology with the artist's exploration of machines and industrial objects. Ratatouille is matched with a seventeenth-century still life depicting a pantry, while Bambi is associated with a historical hunting tapestry. The series concludes with The Lion King, presented in dialogue with a monumental lion sculpture from the museum's collection, a symbol of power and royalty across civilizations. The result is a program that uses the universal language of animated cinema to make works of art more approachable. Rather than explaining films through art - or artworks through cinema - the initiative creates a conversation between two visual languages capable of engaging audiences of all ages. A painting, sculpture or historical object can acquire new meanings after watching a film, just as a beloved animated classic can reveal unexpected artistic and cultural references. The initiative builds on a strategy that the Louvre Abu Dhabi has been developing for several years. Previous editions of Art in Motion also connected each screening with an exhibition, a masterpiece from the collection or a museum project, often preceded by a short introduction from a curator or specialist explaining the relationship between cinema and art. This Summer edition takes place every Saturday from 25 July to 22 August, with free screenings in the museum's Auditorium at 6 pm. The program features, in order, Aladdin, WALL-E, Ratatouille, Bambi and The Lion King, offering visitors a five-week journey that moves seamlessly from the museum galleries to the cinema screen. At a time when museums are seeking new ways to engage increasingly diverse audiences, the Louvre Abu Dhabi offers a model that goes beyond the idea of film as a simple side event. Here, cinema becomes a tool for interpreting the collection, creating meaningful connections between popular culture and artistic heritage without diminishing either. It is a different way of entering a museum - not through labels and wall texts, but through stories that generations of viewers already know by heart.