Building a better understanding between the peoples of the Middle East and US is at the heart of a series of initiatives being spearheaded by the leading art and cultural organizations Edge of Arabia and Art Jameel.
Next month will see the launch in the US of a major community centered art program called ‘Culturunners’. Pioneering artists, scholars and community groups will pool their talents to cultivate new perspectives on cultural collaboration. The aim is to connect people through creativity and beyond identities defined by culture, religion, nation, citizenship, economic status, profession, gender or age.
Stephen Stapleton, co-founder of Edge of Arabia, explained: “We’re trying to do something which is a cross between a road trip, a technology experiment and an arts project.”
Given the many different types of communities across the huge country, he anticipates a wide range of reactions to the artists as they progress through different states.
“The US is like 100 different countries in one. New York is very different to Texas. We’re going to take each community as we find it,” he said.
He noted that there is an appetite in the US for more knowledge about the cultures of the Middle East. “There’s a new interest in the Middle East from the artistic side at the moment. After 9/11 there were a lot of feelings which is completely understandable, but it meant that people were afraid to talk.”
For Stapleton the networking undertaken by the artists is a critical part of the project.
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