The Louvre Abu Dhabi Research Journal is a new annual, peer-reviewed, open-access publication dedicated to advancing scholarly discourse related to the museum’s collection and broader thematic topics. The journal provides a platform for original academic research and critical reflection in art history, archaeology, museum studies, conservation, and heritage science. In addition to research articles, it features thematic dossiers, interviews, and reviews of publications and exhibitions, aspiring to offer a comprehensive perspective on current debates and practices across these disciplines.

For its inaugural issue, scheduled for publication in 2026, the journal invites contributions to a thematic volume titled “Building Art Collections: Global Perspectives in the 20th and 21st Centuries”. This issue explores the histories, strategies, and evolving contexts of art collecting. Its focus is on practices grounded in the Middle East and North Africa region, examining their entanglements with global networks and institutions, and their connection to narratives beyond a Western-centric framework.

We invite contributions that critically examine art collecting as a cultural, economic, and political practice highlighting the role of art collecting in shaping knowledge production, artistic value and the expanding canon of art history. We welcome diverse methodological approaches, including case studies, archival research, and comparative analyses. We encourage submissions that engage with, but are not limited to, the following themes:

1. Museums and Collection-Building
What are the diverse social, cultural, and historical contexts shaping collection-building and museums across the 20th and 21st centuries? How do museum collections engage with multiple perspectives of modernity and contribute to the enlargement of the artistic canon? How do newly established institutions in the Middle East and North Africa region mobilize their collections to position themselves within global art discourse?

2. Transregional Histories of Collecting
What connections can be drawn between collecting practices in the Middle East and North Africa and those in other regions of the world? How have historical, economic, and political commonalities influenced the ways collections have been formed, interpreted, and managed across diverse contexts? In what ways do these dynamics challenge the cultural perspectives of Western museums, now facing demands for restitution and a growing tendency to decelerate or reconsider the logic of continuous acquisition?

3. Private Collectors and Patronage
What impact do private collectors and patrons have on expanding museum collection-building practices? How do collecting practices affect the formation of artistic values? How does private patronage intersect with institutional collecting strategies and art market forces, and what considerations arise from these relationships?

4. Provenance, Ownership Histories, and Object Biographies
How does provenance research contribute to understanding an artwork's history? What does it tell us about past and present collecting practices? How are institutions addressing provenance within diverse legal, ethical, and cultural frameworks? What is the role of artists in the construction of new imaginaries about museum collections? What role can innovative technologies, such as blockchain, play in enhancing transparency and accountability in the acquisition of cultural heritage?

Submission Guidelines
Please submit a title and a 400-word abstract through the journal’s submission platform at https://louvreabudhabijournal.scholasticahq.com, on the ‘For Authors’ sub-page by October 15, 2025. Authors of accepted proposals will be notified in December 2025, with full article submissions due by March 2026. All manuscripts will undergo a double-blind peer review process.
If you require further information, kindly write an email to: ladjournallouvreabudhabi.ae