Whitewall published this report by Erica Silverman on 24 October 2024, covering the Paris presentation of AlUla's inaugural Artists in Residency Program during Art Basel Paris week. The exhibition, titled Orbis Tertius after Jorge Luis Borges's 1940 story, was curated by Arnaud Morand, Head of Arts and Innovation at the French Agency for AlUla Development, and included the Emirati artist Maitha Abdalla among its twenty participants.
According to the article, forty-three works spanning painting, installation, sculpture, video and photography were on view from 15 to 20 October 2024 at 5 rue Saint-Merri. Silverman quotes Nora Aldabal, AlUla's executive director of arts and creative industries, describing residents documenting the region's botany, geology, astronomy, crafts, architecture and agriculture, and notes the programme's link to Madrasat Addeera, an initiative reviving traditional crafts in AlUla's Al Jadidah Arts District.
The piece situates Orbis Tertius as one stage in AlUla's wider cultural build-out, which the article ties to forthcoming projects including a Jean Nouvel-designed resort and a planned contemporary art museum. For Maitha Abdalla, the residency and its Paris showing extend her international profile beyond Tabari Artspace's programme, adding to appearances such as her presentation at the Aichi Triennale in Japan.
