Guggenheim Heir Moves to Abu Dhabi Ahead of Landmark Museum Opening

Dillon Lawson-Johnston has moved to Abu Dhabi with his wife and two children, making him the only member of the Guggenheim founding family currently living in the emirate. The timing coincides with the imminent opening of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island on 11 December — the largest museum in the Guggenheim network. Designed by Frank Gehry, the building will focus on art created from the 1960s onwards, with a curatorial emphasis on works from West Asia, North Africa, and South Asia. Lawson-Johnston co-founded the investment firm Guggenheim Brothers Media in 2024 and has since partnered with Abu Dhabi's Ethmar International Holding. He sits on foundation bodies including the Wanasa Circle and the Young Collectors Council, contributing to curatorial discussions and programmes aimed at drawing younger audiences into museums. His grandfather Peter Lawson-Johnston, a former president and chairman of the Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation, was a driving force behind the Bilbao and Abu Dhabi projects. Dillon says that legacy shaped his own sense of ambition. "I don't want to just be a passive inheritor of a name," he said. "I want to play a very meaningful role in what the Guggenheim name will mean in the future." He also outlined plans to engage younger audiences through digital creators and cultural programming, aiming to bridge the historic institution with contemporary global art culture.