Looking towards downtown Abu Dhabi from the end of the Corniche (aka, waterfront promenade).

Salaam Aleikum from Abu Dhabi. This may be the only time I post because there is not too much going on in the arts here … yet. The irony is that in about four years, Abu Dhabi hopes to become one of the arts and cultural capitals of the world by building an artificial island that will host franchises of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums as well as a maritime museum, a performing arts center and a museum dedicated to the late ruler of Abu Dhabi and founder of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

You can read more about the development, called Saadiyat – or Happiness – Island here or here.

Inside the Emirates Palace Hotel lobby.

An exhibit explaining the master plan for Saadiyat Island is currently on view at the Emirates Palace, a luxury hotel and Abu Dhabi icon. I visited for lunch (my Amex is still stinging from the bill) and to see an exhibit of Picasso paintings on loan from the Musee national Picasso in Paris. (The Picasso exhibit is free and continues through September 4 – and it really is wonderful. I’d never seen the portrait of Dora Maar in person before, which is important to do because the colors in her face, hair and dress – almost fluorescent – really don’t translate well at all in reproductions. She’s so much more full of life than I could have imagined.)

Anyway … I knew about the starchitect factor of Saadiyat Island: Frank Gehry has been called upon to design the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi; Jean Nouvel to design the Louvre Abu Dhabi; Zaha Hadid, the performing arts center; Tadao Ando, the maritime museum; and Foster + Partners, the Sheikh Zayed national museum. Phew. But I was most impressed by the less-publicized aspects of the cultural district plan. (Incidentally, the cultural district constitutes only a fraction of Saadiyat Island, which also includes luxury eco-hotels, several beaches, a marina, a theme park and more.)

Along a creek that cuts through the island like a ribbon – designed by SOM, architects of the Saadiyat master plan – pavilions by about a dozen illustrious architects, including personal fave Greg Lynn, will host arts exhibits and events. The creek banks will also serve as a giant linear park, and the island will host an art biennial.

Great architecture - check. Rotating exhibits - check. Priceless brand names - check. Recurring events - check. Sounds like a well-rounded strategy to me.

Model of Saadiyat Island on view at Emirates Palace; the metal-skinned elephant head in the foreground is the Gehry.

I suppose I’ll believe it when I see it – gotta come back in 2012 or later, assuming construction delays – but it’s an impressive plan with impressive research into the economic value of the arts at its backbone. When the oil runs dry, Abu Dhabi hopes to stoke its economy with tourism dollars. They’ve already got me planning at least one visit.

Parting thoughts: beaches, high-end hotels, museums - sound familiar? It’s not like we don’t have any of these things in the Bay area, but are we selling short what we’ve got because we lack a comprehensive plan to integrate and promote our offerings? E.g., once the new Salvador Dali Museum and the Chihuly Museum at The Arts Center are complete, along with the Tampa Museum of Art’s new building, wouldn’t it make sense to promote them together with Arte or Lights on Tampa as well as attractions like the Sandpearl on Clearwater Beach and historic Ybor City? Am I naive to think this is a no-brainer?