AWARDS AND CRITICISM FOR ABU DHABI GUGGENHEIM’S PLANNERS

Earlier this week, the American Federation of Arts bestowed its annual Cultural Leadership Awards on individuals who have made important contributions to the museum world. Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon al Nahyan, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority and Tourism Development and Investment Company, received one of the awards, for his vision in creating the Cultural District of Saadiyat Island. Other winners were Thomas Krens, director of the Guggenheim Foundation, for his role in developing the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum, and architect Frank Gehry, for his “innovative approach to museum design, most recently demonstrated in his proposal for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum.”

Meanwhile, according to Colleen Long of the Associated Press, the Guggenheim Museum has come under criticism from a human rights organization: The Persian Gulf nation has “systemic” abuse problems at construction sites, Human Rights Watch spokeswoman Sarah Leah Whitson said, citing hazardous work conditions, withheld wages, and confiscated passports. The group believes that Guggenheim Museum officials have not addressed concerns about the treatment of workers who will build the Abu Dhabi branch.