Introduction

The coming chapters introduce a discussion on many nished projects in the Gulf. They analyse the aspirational national identities reected in these projects and highlight the disconnections between the museums’ narrative and citizens’ realities. The older museums reect a “specic, deliberate history” that is becoming less relatable for younger generations and to those whose experience is more varied (Erskine-Loftus 2013: 21). This variance is precisely what many forthcoming museums are trying to narrow, through the use of oral histories, personal interviews and focus groups.