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 On Thursday, the artist and filmmaker David Lynch died at the age of 78, causing an outpouring of love across the region and the world the likes of which we rarely see. Lynch, whose 79th birthday would have been yesterday, was a great master of his craft but, more importantly, he was a powerful conduit to the human condition, both beautiful and terrible. With his art and being, he made the mundane seem ethereal. His work – dark, metaphysical low fantasy, though rarely described as such – is unparalleled. And yet his influence is everywhere, especially when filmmakers try to capture the realm of dreams, as if he is the only true arbiter of the unwaking. Art is often described as Lynchian, but the precise definition of that has always remained a bit hazy. Oft imitated, never fully captured. Ironically, because his aesthetics and storytelling voice are so unmistakable, he’s probably the easiest modern artist for AI to imitate – save perhaps Wes Anderson. Open ChatGPT and ask it to spit out ideas in the style of Lynch and you’ll get countless Twin Peaks facsimiles, perhaps with shades of Eraserhead or Mulholland Drive. Other apps can do the same for his visual sense and his sound design – which continued across his paintings, music and more. But none of it will ever make a dent past the surface. Lynch can never be understood by an algorithm or left-brained thinking. He was a deeply intuitive artist. Read his interviews or his biographies and he’ll often say things to the effect of: “I don’t know why, I just did.” You get the sense that he wasn’t interested in answering questions even for himself – instead trusting that if they came from the right place within him, they spoke to a truth that was beyond description. Buddhists call this “Buddha-nature”, the idea that true enlightenment has always been within us, it’s just a matter of accessing it. Regardless of whether you view this spiritually (Lynch personally connected with Hindu philosophy), there’s undoubtedly truth to it – the more we know ourselves, the better we can communicate with the world around us. Lynch was a master communicator, opening the minds of everyone who has engaged with his work – stirring up deep, sometimes distressing emotions that may take a lifetime to fully parse. His work remains accessible and ageless because of its unmistakable humanity. With clarity of purpose, by connecting with his deep self and finding a way to bring it to the surface (which he called living “the art life”), he connected with us all – tapping into the field that unites us deep down, the ancestral soul in the subatomic. That’s why, for artists, the best way to take influence from Lynch is not to try to know him better but to know thyself – the only wisdom he ever tried to preach to others. Real art is not in aesthetics, it’s in spirit. It’s embedded in humanity and cannot be soullessly generated, through AI or otherwise. As Lynch told students at his alma mater the American Film Institute in a lecture late in life: “Tell the stories that are inside you. Each person has these stories that come along. Just stay true to those ideas and enjoy the doing of it.” There will never be another David Lynch – nor should there be. But there are countless names that can rise to his heights if they follow the same path within. Singers Assala Nasri and Ayed, stars of television series AlRawabi School for Girls and Nema El Avoccato and the film Welad Al Rizk: El Qadia, were among the big winners at the 2025 Joy Awards . Held in Riyadh on Saturday, the star-studded event showcased the creme de la creme of the Arab world's music and film talents, alongside internationally renowned figures. Actors Nelly Karim and Ahmed Ezz graced the red carpet alongside Hollywood greats such as actor Morgan Freeman and film composer Hans Zimmer, both of whom were honoured with lifetime achievement awards for their outstanding career contributions. Two-time Academy Award-winning actor Anthony Hopkins, who was honoured at last year's event, was also among the attendees. Now in its fifth year and organised by Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, the Joy Awards has grown to become one of the region's most prestigious industry events – a Middle Eastern counterpart to the Grammy, Emmy and Academy Awards combined. This ambitious approach ensures the ceremony regularly gathers the largest number of Arab talents under one roof for a glittering evening broadcast live on MBC channels and the streaming platform Shahid. The night was full of memorable moments , from Hrithik Roshan’s speech to Christina Aguilera ’s blazing set. The National 's Saeed Saeed, who was on the ground at the event, spoke to Syrian actor Bassem Yakhour about his nominated project, as well as the state of the arts scene in Syria. When Palestinian-Jordanian singer Zeyne finished co-writing her viral hit Asli Anna in April last year, she felt a mix of elation and relief. She was thrilled to create a track reflecting the new values she aimed to embrace and was grateful to break through the writer’s block brought on by trauma. The Israel-Gaza war left Zeyne uninspired to create and also had her re-evaluating why she was doing this in the first place. “There were seven or eight months when I just couldn't really write anything and nothing really was happening in the studio,” she tells The National . “I was affected – and still am affected – by what is happening. But I did sense I was going through this shift in how I was seeing myself and the realisation that I wanted to start presenting music that really presented my culture.” Hence, work began on what would become her breakout single. Released in November, Asli Ana opens with a spoken-word piece underscoring the cultural significance of the traditional Palestinian thobe, before transitioning into a vibrant dabke anthem. Find more here . DATES FOR YOUR DIARY · Boys II Men at Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi – January 25 · The Corrs at Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai – February 6 · Amr Diab and Adam Port at Etihad Park, Abu Dhabi – April 5 OTHER HIGHLIGHTS