by Jon Lackman | 5 January 2007 | Museums
More from The New York Times on French museums lending their collections: “Questions are being raised about plans to create a satellite of the Louvre in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and to establish an outpost of the Georges Pompidou Center in Shanghai. Critics have accused President Jacques Chirac of using the country’s museums to promote France’s political and commercial interests abroad … Pompidou officials assert that the aim is not to make money but rather to be present in China as that country emerges as a major new center of contemporary art. And President Chirac, who recently visited China, is clearly eager to use the Pompidou to raise France’s profile in the world’s fastest growing economy … According to French press reports [Louvre director Henri] Loyrette was barely consulted about the Louvre’s involvement [with Abu Dhabi] and privately expressed reservations, noting that the Louvre’s resources were strained by the High Museum program and the Louvre-Lens development. But, the reports said, he was overruled.”
