Stephen Stapleton (born 1976) is an artist, social entrepreneur, and founding director of

Edge of Arabia Edge of Arabia is an independent arts initiative developing the appreciation of contemporary Arab art and culture with a particular focus on Saudi Arabia. As a social enterprise ''Edge of Arabia'' is committed to reaching new audiences and impro ...

, CULTURUNNERS, and the UK charity The Crossway Foundation (a UK charity enabling cultural exchange and training for young people). Stapleton is known for developing platforms for cultural exchange and diplomacy between the Middle East, Europe and the United States. Stapleton has produced over 50 international exhibitions including at Museums and Biennales in London, New York, Venice, Istanbul, Berlin, Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah, Miami, Aspen, Houston, Oslo, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Detroit, Memphis, Lewiston, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. Stapleton has published six internationally distributed books and produced a series of Virtual Reality and Short Film documentaries for distribution via international media platforms including ''The Guardian'', ''Creative Time'' and VR Forum.

Background

Stephen Stapleton was born on 24 March 1976 in Aylesbury, United Kingdom. He studied at Radley College, the

University of Brighton The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieve ...

and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

Career

In 2002 to 2003 during an artist-led expedition across the Middle East, Stapleton visited the al-Meftaha Arts Village in South-Western Saudi Arabia where he became intrigued by the work of the artists he met there. From this encounter, Stapleton founded the company

and began producing international exhibitions of Arab contemporary art (with a focus on Saudi Arabia) across Europe, the United States, and the Middle East. In 2011, Stapleton produced The Future of a Promise, bringing together more than twenty-five recent art works and commissions by some of the foremost Arab world artists to make the largest Pan-Arab landmark exhibition of contemporary art at the 54th International Art Exhibition –

la Biennale di Venezia The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

. In September 2014, he launched (at the

Rothko Chapel The Rothko Chapel is a wiktionary:nondenominational, non-denominational chapel in Houston, Texas, founded by John de Ménil, John and Dominique de Menil. The interior serves not only as a chapel, but also as a major work of modern art: on its wal ...

) the company CULTURUNNERS providing an independent model of cultural exchange and artist-point-of-view storytelling across physical and ideological borders. As its first project, CULTURUNNERS embarked on the largest ever cultural diplomacy tour (2014–2018) between the Middle East and the United States, traveling over 30,000 miles across the US in a 34-foot converted RV hosting over 120 artists and delivering exhibitions, films and events in museums and institutions. At end of 2017 Stapleton became an Executive Producer leading development and financing of the VR Film 'Reframe Saudi' that explores the social and economic transformations reshaping Saudi from the perspectives of a new generation of contemporary artists. On completion of filming in 2018 it undertook a tour of Festival de Cannes, Phillips NY, Art Dubai,

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

Milano Film Festival Milan Film Festival (MFF), also known as Milano Film Festival, is an annual film festival held since 1996 in Milan, Italy. It was founded as a competition of only local short films. It became an international film festival in 1998 when it also st ...

and was chosen as an official selection at the World VR Forum (WVRF). During 2018 Stapleton initiated and created a global arts program revealed at

MOMA Moma may refer to: People * Moma Clarke (1869–1958), British journalist * Moma Marković (1912–1992), Serbian politician * Momčilo Rajin (born 1954), Serbian art and music critic, theorist and historian, artist and publisher Places ; Ang ...

(Program launch & Cultural Threads think tank), Art Dubai & Dubai Art Week (Fully Booked, Huroof Exhibition and symposium), LACMA (VIP event), Kennedy Center Washington DC (Saudi Art Exhibition), Newseum, Washington DC (Changing Landscapes Panel Discussion), Phillips (Reframe Saudi Exhibition & VR Screening), KSA/LAX (Space Land), Art Paris Art Fair & Institut de Monde Arab, (MisKulturExpo), and

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

(think tank). He also created the first ever Saudi National Pavilion at the La Biennale di Veneziz International Architecture Biennale. In October 2018 in New York, Stapleton as Director of Edge of Arabia conceived and led the development of the Arab World Art & Education Initiative, to build greater understanding between the United States and the Arab world through museums, exhibitions, artist dialogues and education programs in schools and universities. Partners include: 2 Bridges Music Arts, Art Jameel, ArtX, Asia Society Brooklyn Museum, Columbia University, Edge of Arabia Middle East Institute, Misk Art Institute, Pioneer Works,

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the permanent home of a continuously exp ...

, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, UNESCO, Washington Street Historical Society and WeWork.

References

External links

EdgeOfArabia.com

CULTURUNNERS.com

Crossway-Foundation.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stapleton, Stephen 1976 births Living people Alumni of the University of Brighton Alumni of the University of London Alumni of Wimbledon College of Arts British art curators English businesspeople English people of Norwegian descent Founders of charities People educated at Radley College People from Aylesbury