The much-anticipated opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi took place on November 11. Coverage of this exciting milestone event includes:

• The Art Newspaper: Louvre Abu Dhabi: The Grand Opening (November 7), Video: Will Louvre Abu Dhabi become famous as a new wonder of the world? (November 7)
• The National UAE: First look at one of the Louvre Abu Dhabi's contemporary commissions (November 1)
• Architectural Record: Jean Nouvel Unveils the Louvre Abu Dhabi (November 7)
• The New York Times: Louvre Abu Dhabi, a Cultural Cornerstone Where East Meets West (November 7)
• CNN: Why all eyes are on the Middle East's new billion dollar museum (November 9), Inside the Louvre Abu Dhabi's groundbreaking collection (November 13)
• The Wall Street Journal: Louvre Abu Dhabi Melds East and West (November 14) 

Lord Cultural Resources was first commisioned for the project by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Development and Investment Company in 2006. Watch Gail Lord's interview from Abu Dhabi to learn more about our role in the project, or read about the project on our website.

Studies have shown that the staff and leadership of art museums do not adequately reflect the socio-economic and racial demographics of the country. Through the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, the Ford Foundation and Walton Family Foundation will support creative solutions to diversify curatorial and management staff at art museums across the United States. 20 art museums were selected for funding of pioneering programs. Among the winners of this competitive selection are Lord clients the DuSable Museum of African American History and The Studio Museum in Harlem.

The DuSable Museum engaged Lord Cultural Resources to develop an expansion plan that would integrate the existing Museum with the addition of a new building. Our work included visitor experience planning, facilities and operations planning,  projections of attendance, operating revenues and expenses and an implementation schedule.

The Studio Musem in Harlem first engaged Lord Cultural Resources in 2012 for institutional planning and a program assessment, with subsequent engagements for capital project planning services and a business plan.

The opening of India's Bihar Museum, covered in last month's edition of Cultural News, continues to receive positive press. The Telegraph India reports on the Museum's high attendance rate during its first month of operation (November 2), and Architectural Digest has released interviews with architect Fumihiko Maki (November 14), and artist and curator Riyas Komu (November 15).

Travel publication Luxury Retreats describes the Audain Art Museum in Whistler, Bristish Columbia as "a small gem of an art museum with a stunning permanent collection and a slate of internationally compelling temporary exhibits". Gail Lord is quoted: “To see a collection you would expect to see in a major city in a ski resort and a building that is this sophisticated surrounded by mountains is a special experience.” Read more and see pictures.

Work on the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s brand new Chicago Architecture Center is moving into high gear. Earlier this month, a $4.7 million construction permit was issued for the riverfront project which will eventually become CAF’s new base of operations following the organization’s 25 year stint in the old Railway Exchange Building. Learn more the construction of the new space on Curbed Chicago.

Lord Cultural Resources was first commisioned by the Chicago Architecture Foundation in 2006 to assess the feasibility of a Chicago Architecture Center, and most recently was re-engaged to update the business plan and projections for this exciting new site and facility.

Senior Lord Cultural Resources consultant Sarah Hill recently joined a panel of experts as a judge for Toronto's NextGen Design Charrette. This annual event focuses on adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of local urban spaces. This year's participants drew from a variety of interdisciplinary backgrounds to create proposals addressing the future of Toronto’s Coach Terminal. Read more about the event on Urban Toronto.

The Montreal Holocaust Museum (MHM) will be receiving a federal grant for its Beyond the Walls of the Montreal Holocaust Museum project. "This project will focus on providing educators in various Canadian provinces with the tools to teach about the Holocaust, genocide and human rights," says a federal government announcement. "Through this project, teachers and students will be better equipped to learn about contemporary issues related to human rights and diversity." Read more about the program on The Suburban.

Also in the media this month was the Museum's commemoration of the 79th anniversary of Kristallnacht ("the Night of Broken Glass"): read more on Global News.

Lord recently completed a study to determine the feasibility of an upgrade, expansion and potential relocation of the MHM to a more centrally located downtown site.

A $50 million fundraising campaign is under way to expand and renovate the iconic Motown Museum, where artists such as the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, and the Supremes got their start. The campaign will build an additional 40,000-square-foot space behind the current site, an expansion which will revitalize the neighborhood and honour the Motown story of enterprise, entrepreneurship and creativity. Read more about the campaign on NBC News.

This year, Lord began developing an audience development and program plan for the Motown Museum.

The American Museum of Natural History’s new exhibition, “Our Senses,” challenges visitors' expectations of everyday reality across its 11 interactive galleries. “Our senses are the product of millions of years of evolution,” said Robert DeSalle, the exhibition’s curator. “That millions of years of evolution produces some really strange things in how we perceive the world."

Saskatoon’s awe-inspiring new Remai Modern has vast ambitions, but is the timing right for the city to receive a Bilbao-style introduction to the world stage of culture? Architect Bruce Kuwabara (KPMB Architects) argues that "This isn’t just a gallery, it’s an act of making a city".

November 17 marked the opening of the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa, after a 3-year, $80-million renovation. With a focus more on the future than the past, the exhibition space includes topics such as wearable technology, sound design, natural resource development and medicine. They have also added a 9,200 square foot temporary exhibition space for travelling blockbusters they were previously unable to accommodate.

Greenbuild 2017 was organized by the U.S. Green Building Council and held in Boston from November 8 through 10. Architectural Record covered a number of conference highlights, including: 

• The optimistic tone of the Conference's plenary speakers,
• The awarding of the first-ever "Biophilic Design award", to a project demonstating this quality of integration between nature and the built environment, and
• Astrophysicist and author Neil deGrasse Tyson's conference closing speech.

Architecture firm dRMM has been awarded this year's RIBA Stirling Prize for its revival of a seaside pier in Hastings, England. RIBA president and jury chair Ben Derbyshire described the project as a "masterpiece of regeneration and inspiration ... The architects and local community have transformed a neglected wreck into a stunning, flexible new pier to delight and inspire visitors and local people."

The Kremer Collection announced the launch of the Kremer Museum, an innovative new concept that combines cutting-edge technology with world-class masterpieces. Designed by architect Johan van Lierop (Architales, Studio Libeskind), the museum will feature over 70 17th century Dutch and Flemish Old Master paintings from the Collection and will be accessible exclusively through Virtual Reality (VR) technology.

Renowned Canadian artist and author Douglas Coupland will add a new work of global significance to Calgary’s vibrant public art scape. ‘Northern Lights’, a 160,000 square foot LED-based art installation at the new TELUS Sky tower, will become the biggest public art piece in Calgary.

Painter and activist Ilene Sova says more artists feel called upon by movements like Occupy, Idle No More and Black Lives Matter to apply their critical skills and participate in social justice. "There's a shift away from viewing art as a commercial product and more as something that's reflectve of society and people," she said. "People are thinking about a bigger ecosystem than just their pieces being shown and sold at art galleries."

A coalition of local community members and nonprofits is looking to change the startling reality that 40% of Detroit's population has no access to the internet. Diana Nucera, director of the Detroit Community Technology Project, argues that "communication is a fundamental human right ... this is digital justice."

Public furniture, large art installations and trees can all make cities more livable – and safe. Researchers, urban planners and community activists say that city design is one of the best ways to ward off the growing threat of terror attacks that use motor vehicles as a weapon. According to one expert, "the goal shouldn’t be to create a police state based on fear. It’s possible to have thriving, dynamic, accessible spaces for people ... that doesn’t mean a threatening environment.”

The City of Toronto and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) have announced that Toronto is the first Canadian city to be designated a UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts. Created in 2004, the UNESCO's Creative Cities Network (UCCN) is organized into seven fields: crafts and folk art, design, film, gastronomy, literature, media arts and music. Toronto is the 10th city to be designated a UNESCO Media Arts City, with oher designated cities including Austin, Texas; Tel-Aviv, Israel; and Dakar, Senegal.