Saeed Saeed

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Arts and Culture Reporter at The National

Beats and words. Arts and Culture reporter for The National. Views are my own.

Featured in: Favicon

thenationalnews.com Favicon

msn.com

mdpi.com

rsc.org

bestinau.com.au Favicon

newsbreak.com Favicon

arabamerica.com Favicon

acs.org

globalresearch.ca Favicon

avfoil.com + 3 more

Articles

Fontaines DC and Idles show support for Palestine at Primavera Sound

2 weeks ago | thenationalnews.com | Saeed Saeed

Spain’s Primavera Sound is the latest major music festival where artists have expressed solidarity with Palestinians. Held over four days in Barcelona and concluding on Sunday, the event featured headline performances by Irish band Fontaines DC and UK group Idles, both of whom voiced support for Palestinians. During their Primavera set on Saturday, Fontaines DC performed beneath a “Free Palestine” banner and a projected message that read: “Israel is committing genocide. Use your voice".
Abu Dhabi Festival highlights Emirati music talent at London’s Kensington Palace concert

3 weeks ago | thenationalnews.com | Saeed Saeed

Emirati musicians and composers took centre stage at a recital held at Kensington Palace in London. Organised by the Abu Dhabi Festival in partnership with UK non-profit the Peace and Prosperity Trust, the invitation-only performance on Friday was held in the presence of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
Why Ammar 808 is moving Tunisia's mezoued folk music to the dance floor

3 weeks ago | thenationalnews.com | Saeed Saeed

It’s the sound of weddings, community gatherings and late-night celebrations. The spiralling wheeze of goatskin bagpipes dances over urgent percussion, while the singer delivers refrains of hope, salutations and streetwise wisdom shaped by Tunisia’s working class. Yet despite its infectious joie de vivre, the mezoued folk music genre remained largely absent from cultural institutions and national television, dismissed for decades as unsophisticated and unworthy of the mainstream exposure.
Oman pavilion exploring memory and identity in digital age wins award at London Design Biennale

3 weeks ago | thenationalnews.com | Saeed Saeed

A meditative exhibition exploring memory in the digital age has earned a prestigious medal for the Oman Pavilion on what is the sultanate’s first appearance at the London Design Biennale. The pavilion commissioned by Oman’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth collected the best design medal at the traditional award ceremony held before the 2025 event opens to the public today at Somerset House. It runs until June 29.
How Lebanese singer and fugitive Fadel Chaker keeps releasing songs while on the run

3 weeks ago | thenationalnews.com | Saeed Saeed

Fadel Chaker's hit single, Ahla Rasma, raises as many questions as it answers. The song – a lush ballad in the style he’s renowned for – reaffirms the timeless notion that love is best expressed without conditions. But that clarity doesn’t extend to his place in the Arabic music industry or his complex relationship with regional audiences. Despite his undeniable appeal as a talented singer and composer, Chaker, 56, remains a convicted fugitive, with a 22-year prison sentence still in place.
How Lebanese band Adonis found space to retreat and rebuild on new album Wedyan

3 weeks ago | thenationalnews.com | Saeed Saeed

What’s the difference between silence and quiet in times of conflict? For Lebanese band Adonis, it came down to agency – the ability to choose how, and when, to express themselves. Released last month and recorded during the 2024 Israel invasion of Lebanon – the veteran group, known for their ebullient sound and emotionally precise lyrics, has delivered a set of songs intentionally detached from the immediate context of the conflict.
‘Handasa’: Why the Arabic word for engineering is built to last

4 weeks ago | thenationalnews.com | Saeed Saeed

From the shaping of things to finely honed skill, the Arabic word for engineering is more than the sum of its parts. Handasa, this week's word, stems from the root letters ha, noon, dal and seen, and is believed to have originated from the Persian word andazah, meaning measurement or dimension. The term entered the Arabic language in the ninth century during the Abbasid era, when Baghdad’s Bayt Al Hikma, the historical House of Wisdom and library, became a centre of translation.
'It’s how we speak': Gad Elmaleh on the language of Moroccan humour

1 month ago | thenationalnews.com | Saeed Saeed

A formative moment in Gad Elmaleh’s comedy career arrived as a child in the family home in Casablanca. After watching a romantic film, he turned to his parents and told them he loved them. Elmaleh recalls how his mother’s reaction didn’t go according to script: “she just looked at me and said, ‘what do you think this is, a French movie?’”.
Twelve ways to wish someone a happy Eid Al Adha

1 month ago | thenationalnews.com | Saeed Saeed

As Muslims across the region and the world prepare to celebrate the Eid Al Adha holiday in mosques and homes, it is a good time to refresh our minds on greetings. When it comes to holiday salutations, there are more possibilities than the frequently used and perfectly serviceable Eid Mubarak, which translates to “blessed Eid”. In addition to sharing good energy for the future, these Eid greetings include references to health, family and spirituality.
Jordan’s literary legacy: Five novels that help define the nation

1 month ago | thenationalnews.com | Razmig Bedirian |Saeed Saeed

Jordanian writer Jalal Barjas won the 2021 International Prize for Arabic Fiction for the novel Notebooks of the Bookseller. Photo: Shaama Oubayda Mahfoud