The site-specific collection of NYU Abu Dhabi

A permanent collection born together with the campus

An international selection. In Abu Dhabi, alongside the new Louvre, a campus takes shape that houses more than 5,000 people: with a monumental library, three theatres and an art gallery. As finalists in an international selection, in 2012 we were invited to Abu Dhabi. We conducted technical and commercial interviews with representatives of the faculty and the government. The academic and governmental commission assigns the mandate to Art Consulting.

Art as an educational instrument. For three years we directed the process alongside an academic and governmental commission, addressing the theory and ethics of public art, developing the concept of a permanent site-specific collection, with monumental installations by major artists: from Antony Gormley to Alice Aycock, from Tomás Saraceno to Richard Long, from Etel Adnan to Ahmed Mater and Hassan Sharif. In the New York University campus, art is part of the educational experience of a community of students from 100 different countries. What is required is not only masterworks, but artworks capable of stimulating reflection, meeting the most rigorous criteria of environmental sustainability and safety, resistance to extreme climatic conditions and ease of maintenance.

A continuous challenge, cultural and technical. We directed the design process, complex installations and conservation issues. The New York University campus was built in parallel with its collection: during construction, certain architectural solutions were redefined in response to the works. Through the international network of contacts activated by Art Consulting, collaborations were established with artists working in different languages, from monumental installations for exterior and interior spaces to photography, from Land art to interactive art and augmented reality. The works are a permanent part of the campus, installed and operational.