Dubai’s evolving cultural landscape is set to welcome a new addition with the announcement of the Elie Khouri Art Foundation’s (EKAF) permanent home, scheduled to open in late 2028. Founded by French-Lebanese entrepreneur, philanthropist and art collector Elie Khouri, the Foundation has commissioned architect Sumayya Vally, founder of Counterspace, to re-imagine an existing villa in Jumeirah 1 as a space dedicated to contemporary art, education and public engagement.
Rather than constructing a conventional museum, the project will transform a residential property into a cultural institution that preserves the intimacy and character of its original architecture. Drawing inspiration from the streets of Beirut and traditional Gulf courtyard houses, Vally’s vision explores the relationship between memory, place and community, creating an architectural language that connects the region’s past with its contemporary creative identity.
The development will include exhibition galleries, educational spaces, pavilions, landscaped gardens and outdoor areas designed to host cultural gatherings and seasonal events. At its heart is the ambition to make art a more accessible.
“Art belongs in everyday life, not apart from it,” says Elie Khouri. “My foundation will be a home for contemporary art, open to everyone. A place to inspire, challenge and spark dialogue.”
The Foundation represents the next chapter in Khouri’s two-decade journey as an international contemporary art collector. Under the direction of Caroline Louca, former Managing Director of Christie’s Middle East, EKAF will develop a programme extending beyond Khouri’s personal collection, bringing together rotating exhibitions, institutional collaborations, artwork loans and educational initiatives.
For Vally, whose architectural practice spans Johannesburg and London, the commission offers an opportunity to reconsider how cultural institutions engage with their surroundings. Known for her work on the 2021 Serpentine Pavilion in London and her role as Artistic Director of the inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah in 2023, Vally approaches architecture through the lens of identity, history and collective memory.
“I think of buildings as having many lives,” Vally explains. “At EKAF, we begin with a house that has already held a world within it.”
Her approach will transform familiar domestic architectural elements into a public environment, allowing the building’s original identity to inform its new purpose. The project also anticipates collaborations with regional artists, designers, researchers and makers, ensuring that the institution continues to evolve through the communities it welcomes.
For Louca, the relationship between architecture and artistic experience is central to the Foundation’s identity. “A building shapes what people do with art before a single work is hung,” she says, emphasising the importance of spaces that encourage visitors to observe, question and engage with one another.
With its anticipated opening in late 2028, the Elie Khouri Art Foundation aims to establish more than another exhibition venue. It proposes a new cultural meeting point in Dubai, where architecture, contemporary artistic practice and public life intersect, reflecting the growing importance of privately founded cultural institutions in shaping the region’s creative future.
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