Maitha Abdalla is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice traverses painting, sculpture, installation and performance. Drawing on folklore, mythology and theatre, her work explores the tension between the individual and the collective, as well as the body and the social order. Abdalla has exhibited widely in major biennials and institutional exhibitions and is the co-founder of Bait 15, an artist-run platform in the UAE.

Residency Project

During my residency at Kalba Ice Factory, I continued my multidisciplinary practice through research centred on ritual, movement and sound within Muslim communities. Existing fluidly across mediums, my work explores themes of memory, identity and womanhood, often drawing from personal histories and inherited narratives.

Born and raised in Khorfakkan, UAE, my practice is deeply informed by the landscape and oral traditions of the coastal city. Surrounded by the sea and mountains, Khorfakkan has long shaped my imagination and relationship to storytelling, where folktales and collective memory are embedded within everyday life.

At Kalba Ice Factory, I expanded my ongoing investigation into ritualistic practices that exist within communal and spiritual contexts. Prior to the residency, I travelled to Tunisia to research stambeli, a centuries-old musical ritual associated with healing and bodily liberation. There, I examined the relationship between movement, rhythm and altered emotional states, considering how sound and gesture can reveal internal and collective experiences.

My residency research focused on understanding the connections between the body, spirituality and performance through observation, documentation and embodied experience. I intend to continue this research through future travel to Turkey, Kazakhstan and Egypt, developing a new body of work that reflects on the ways rituals and oral traditions shape emotional and spiritual understanding across cultures.