A 1934 painting by Lebanese artist Omar Onsi depicts a woman, perhaps a mother, resting her hands on a young boy’s shoulders before a set of artworks. The barefooted boy, about nine or 10, wears a jacket and traditional Arab headdress. He stares – curious, perhaps – at a canvas, of which only the left side is visible to us.

Are they visitors to the studio or sitters summoned by the artist? Regardless, warmth radiates between them. One imagines the mother asking her son what he sees, or the boy turning to her with a question of his own.

When was the last time you visited a museum with a loved one or by yourself? Various studies estimate that only between five and 20 per cent of people visit museums solo, underscoring that exhibitions are most often shared experiences.

Growing up in the UAE of the 1980s, museums were rare. But by 2025, the landscape has transformed. Next month, Dubai will host the first-ever meeting of the International Council of Museums in the Arab world, drawing thousands of experts to the city for 10 days of debate and exchange. But what is the role of museums in our region? Are they static exhibition spaces? Or living, adaptive entities shaped by their environment and audiences?

Institutions such as Louvre Abu Dhabi have put the Middle East's museums firmly on the world map. Antonie Robertson / The National

Museums have deep roots in some regional cities – Cairo’s Museum of Islamic Art opened in 1903. Yet in recent decades, institutions have also suffered damage or looting, from the Iraq National Museum and the National Museum of Sudan to Gaza’s collections under bombardment.