Old Makkah Photos, Sacred Hindu Art and Christianity in UAE: Louvre Abu Dhabi Funds Multifaceted Research

Historic Makkah images, Hindu sacred art, and Christian heritage in the UAE: Louvre Abu Dhabi backs groundbreaking research

Louvre Abu Dhabi has launched its first Fellowships and Grants programme, funding projects that challenge Eurocentric narratives in art history and shed light on underexplored cultural legacies. Among the selected topics are the circulation of early photographs of Makkah, the representation of Hindu and Buddhist art, and the Christian heritage of the UAE.

Designed to advance scholarship in art history, museum studies, heritage science, conservation, and archaeology, the initiative drew 170 applications from around the world. Five researchers were chosen to join the inaugural cohort.

The programme offers Dh85,000 for short-term residencies of three months and Dh245,000 for long-term projects of nine months. Fellows will gain exclusive access to Louvre Abu Dhabi’s research and conservation centres, as well as its advanced scientific library, the first of its kind in the Gulf. Working closely with the museum’s collection, they will explore diverse cultural perspectives with particular attention to voices from the Global South.

The inaugural fellows and their projects

• Hamid Keshmirshekan (UK/Iran)
  Senior scholar at Columbia University and former teaching fellow at SOAS, Keshmirshekan was awarded a short-term fellowship. His project De-centring the Canon: Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Challenge to Eurocentric Art History examines how the museum integrates modern and contemporary Middle Eastern artists, reframing global art narratives beyond traditional Western frameworks.
• Helena Barranha (Portugal)
  Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, and researcher at NOVA University, Barranha joins as a short-term fellow. Her study The Multiple Images of a Cosmopolitan Museum explores how Louvre Abu Dhabi’s architecture embodies cultural convergence, its reinterpretation by the public through social media, and the role of digital tools such as AI in shaping museum experiences.
• Mizuho Ikeda (UK/Japan)
  Research associate at the Centre of Southeast Asian Studies and teaching fellow at SOAS, Ikeda is the programme’s sole long-term fellow. Her project Universal Museums and Religious Diversity compares exhibition strategies at Louvre Abu Dhabi and Asian museums, focusing on how Hindu and Buddhist sacred art is curated and received within a global, multi-faith context.
• Rhomaillessa Talhaoui (France/Morocco)
  Graduate of Université Paris Cité, Talhaoui investigates the movement of early photographs of Makkah (1880–1920). Her project The Transimperial Circulation of Early Pictures of Makkah traces how these images travelled across colonial, religious, and commercial networks, highlighting local photographers and questioning Western-dominated interpretations of early regional photography.
• Suhaila Almansoori (UAE)
  An Emirati historian and cultural heritage specialist pursuing a master’s at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, Almansoori examines the pre-Islamic Christian past of the UAE. Her research, Pre-Islamic Christian Heritage in the United Arab Emirates, builds on excavations at Al Sulaimi (Al Ain) and the sixth–seventh century monastery discovered on Siniya Island. She is currently studying a rare palm frond basket coated in bitumen unearthed earlier this year.

Team V.DIR-EM-UAE