ABSTRACT
This paper explores ideas of the utopian in relation to art museums and the contemporary moment in the Arabian Peninsula. The transference of global art museums — art museums constructed according to dominant Western art historical principles and museological practices — to the Arabian Peninsula, has brought with it the rhetoric of post-Enlightenment depoliticized humanist idealism that argues for the ability of these museums to instrumentalize international peace and understanding, as well as offering solace on an individual level through solitary communion with works of art, resulting in a transcendental experience. The discussion addresses the differing ideologies at play and concludes by evaluating some of the futures posited for global art museums in the Arabian Peninsula.
