Louvre Abu Dhabi to host floating kayak cinema

Take in the museum's surroundings by kayak and enjoy a short film while you're at it

Louvre Abu Dhabi will be showing short film 'Hair Love'. Courtesy Sea Hawk Watersports

Louvre Abu Dhabi is doubling up as a floating cinema this summer, with the return of its popular Kayak Cinema Show.

Taking place on two Saturdays in June and July, the Abu Dhabi museum will be showing an outdoor film that can be watched from kayaks in the surrounding water.

To tie in with the theme of Louvre Abu Dhabi's new Children's Museum exhibition, Emotions! The new art adventure, the short film Hair Love will be screened. It follows the story of a young African-American girl learning to style her hair and follows themes of love, confidence and family, as well as embodies a mix of emotions from happiness to fear, hesitation and pride.

The seven-minute film will be projected on to the museum’s wall, and guests will be able to enjoy 60 minutes of kayaking around the museum, taking in the impressive Jean Nouvel-designed structure.

Screenings are scheduled for this Saturday and Saturday, July 3 at 6pm, 7pm and 8pm. The floating cinema experience costs Dh126, and is suitable for children aged 6 and above. Tickets can be booked through Sea Hawk Water Sports.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi's Children's Museum reopened last week for the first time since the start of the pandemic. While Louvre Abu Dhabi reopened in June 2020, the children's museum had to remain closed because of the UAE capital's Covid-19 restrictions for children.

At the same time, the team had to produce the exhibition and reconfigure a few elements to follow safety guidelines.

"We reviewed the designs to ensure that we have as much of a touchless experience as possible and that we can maintain social distancing," Amine Kharchach, Louvre Abu Dhabi's interpretation and mediation manager, who headed up the creation of Emotions!, told The National.

The museum also installed additional sanitisation stations and limited the capacity of visitors to its spaces.