NEW YORK, NY.- In January 2009 Richard Armstrong, Director of the
Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Museum, embarked on his first visit to the site of the new Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum. Scheduled to open in 2013, the museum is being designed by architect Frank Gehry. During his trip, Armstrong met with Gehry as well as Juan Vidarte, Chief Officer for Global Strategies for the Guggenheim, and Guggenheim Trustee Frederick Henry. Together the group toured the museum's location on Saadiyat Island with Lee Tabler, CEO of Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), who is overseeing the area's development. The tour concluded a successful meeting between the Guggenheim and TDIC, including architectural design updates and programming plans for the museum. TDIC plans to break ground for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum in late 2009.