The Arts Edit | The National

Welcome to the latest edition of The Arts Edit, the weekly newsletter from The National's Abu Dhabi newsroom rounding up this week's most noteworthy arts and culture stories. IN FOCUS Ramadan is in full swing, and with it has come a bevy of cultural events and entertainment across the UAE and the wider region. Some of the most exciting events are only just getting started. Ramadan Arcade will be back at Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, featuring workshops, gaming tournaments, the return of the Pink Majlis community space for women, and more. There is also a wealth of art happenings. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will host a workshop on creating abstract art through monoprint with artist Khalid Al Banna on Thursday, and Diaa Allam will delve into abstraction using Arabic calligraphy on Tuesday, March 18. The Sharjah Art Foundation's training programmes on Saturday will include artist Reem Hassan teaching participants how to inscribe patterns on clay tiles and photographer Mohammad Mohsen demonstrating how to turn a photo into a postcard. Also on Saturday, Louvre Abu Dhabi will host a talk on the far-reaching impact of Islamic fables, drawing a connection between Kalila wa Dimna, Peter Rabbit and 101 Dalmatians . Find more happening around the country here . Across the UAE, as well as in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, there are a number of standout art exhibitions worth visiting. Find more here . In Dubai, the Palestinian documentary A State of Passion is showing at Cinema Akil, Alskeral Avenue, until March 21. It chronicles the harrowing experiences of Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah in the early weeks of the Israel-Gaza War, which included him gaining international fame on October 17, 2023, as he defiantly told the world about the explosion that had killed hundreds at Al Ahli Hospital two hours earlier. The film, which debuted at the Reel Palestine festival last month, is heart-wrenching, but it's also uplifting. It's a testament to the resilience of the Palestinian people. It's not just about one great man. It's about the people around him that give him the strength to be great – strength the film also gives to its audience. And it's also laugh-out-loud funny at times. Abu-Sittah and his wife are charming and eccentric and have a disarming, unmistakably Palestinian sense of humour. These are people you'll enjoy spending time with, who will remind you of the good in the world and motivate you to keep fighting for what's right. You may walk out of the theatre feeling heavier on your feet, but the film reminds you that this is a weight that we share together, and thus a weight that's easier to carry. The film is a must-see, and if you have a chance to catch it one evening this Ramadan, be sure to visit the nearby barrad stand at Alserkal Avenue , which has brought a classic Gaza slushy drink to the UAE for the first time, meticulously recreated by Cinema Akil director Khalid Al Sabi. “I wanted to celebrate and preserve something authentically Palestinian, giving wider access to a part of our history,” he told The National . “It’s exactly the same recipe. I’ve had people from Gaza verify it personally – some even cried, as if tasting a cherished memory. It means so much to people.” We look forward to seeing you out and about as the holy month continues. Last month, the British Museum announced Lebanese firm Lina Ghotmeh Architecture as the winner of a competition to redesign its Western Range galleries. Dedicated to ancient Greece, Egypt, Rome, Assyria and the Middle East, with a collection spanning thousands of years, the buildings encompass about one third of the entire museum. Led by the multi award-winning architect Lina Ghotmeh , the Paris-based LGA – behind projects such as Beirut’s Stone Garden , France’s Atelier Hermes in Normandy and the 2023 Serpentine Pavilion in London – was chosen for its winning concept by the jury from the more than 60 teams that applied for the chance to renovate the Western Range last year. The jury said the LGA proposal showed "a deep understanding and sensitivity towards the museum, the complexity of collections' display and artefacts’ interactions with diverse visitor groups". “It’s a feeling of sharing, of collective joy and an expression of deep humanity that arises from the connections and emotions these moments evoke,” Ghotmeh tells The National . “It’s both beautiful and soothing to see our efforts come to fruition and contribute to advancing our societies. “It’s also a feeling of responsibility – the responsibility to bring our visions to life and continue this path of striving for quality and beauty.” Ghotmeh says she and her team are thrilled about “the possibilities of what a 21st century museum could be”. Find more here . Not following the career of Danny McBride ? If you’re a fan of comedy, you really should be. Over the past 20 years, particularly in his work with HBO, he’s become poet laureate of the American id. In Eastbound and Down (2005-2009), Vice Principals (2014-2016) and The Righteous Gemstones (2018-present), he has created some of the funniest, raunchiest and best-crafted shows of the 21st century. The hallmark of great comedy is timing, and McBride knows instinctively where to place the punchline. And while he had said that The Righteous Gemstones was built to run forever – McBride estimated 72 seasons – it was while writing season four that he knew this was where it had to end. “I could just kind of feel it,” McBride tells The National . “I kept coming to resolutions, and themes of moving on. But when we got to set, I didn’t announce to everyone this is the end. If we didn’t stick the landing, I wanted to leave myself the chance to do it again. But then, as we got closer to the ending, I felt we had done what we needed to do with this story. “It’s sad. I love all these people, and it’s sad to look back at what you have created together, knowing that it’s the end of a chapter. It’s a whole bushel of emotions. But at the end of the day, I felt good about it. It was an awesome experience – and so much fun to tell this story with this group of people.” As it turns out, his fellow cast members realised only when McBride gave a speech on the final day of filming that the show was over. Find more here . DATES FOR YOUR DIARY · Art Dubai at Madinat Jumeirah – April 18 to 20 · Club Social at Etihad Park, Abu Dhabi – April 18 to 20 · Trevor Noah at Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi – April 26 OTHER HIGHLIGHTS