Exclusive ladies only sessions for 'Arts of Islam' viewing

The exhibition - featuring 500 pieces of the finest Islam art from the renowned collection amassed by scholar and international collector Professor Nasser D. Khalili - will be open to ladies only from 10am until 4pm every Tuesday for the duration of the exhibition which will run until April 22nd.

The exhibition is the first time the Khalili collection has been seen in the Middle East and includes pieces never seen in public before.

Housed in a professional museum setting, the exhibition is part of an arts education programme launched by Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), Abu Dhabi's leading cultural and tourism asset developer and the name behind the transformation of Saadiyat Island, which lies 500 metres offshore the UAE capital, into a signature leisure and cultural destination. The island's Cultural District will be home to the largest single cluster of world-class assets including the Sheikh Zayed National Museum, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Maritime Museum and a performing Arts Centre.

"Our aim is to build a national psyche of arts appreciation in advance of the opening of these global cultural assets and as such we wish to engage all sections of the UAE community," said Mubarak Al Muhairi, Managing Director, TDIC. "It is important that we are sensitive to the needs of all community members and provide them with every opportunity to experience, enjoy and learn from the arts initiatives we are undertaking."

The 'Arts of Islam' exhibition runs daily from 10am until 10pm with visitors simply asked to make a nominal entry donation to the Emirates Foundation - a philantrophic organisation based in Abu Dhabi with a vision of implementing strategic projects that benefit the UAE nation, particularly its youth.