Born from a chance encounter in 2003 between British artist, Stephen Stapleton, and Saudi artists at the Al Meftaha Arts Village in Abha, Edge of Arabia has always been at its core a grassroots initiative.
From the mountains of Aseer to the backstreets of Jeddah, Stephen and Edge of Arabia co-founders, Ahmed Mater and Abdulnasser Gharem spent the next five years traveling the length and breadth of the country in search of outstanding artists voices to showcase in London.
Edge of Arabia officially launched with a major exhibition at London’s SOAS Brunei Gallery in October 2008. The following year, with the vision of a new Creative Director, Abdullah Al-Turki, and a growing network of support, the initiative presented the first ever showing of contemporary art from Saudi Arabia at the 53rd Venice Biennale.
Since then, Edge of Arabia has traveled to Riyadh for the Global Competitiveness Forum, Berlin during the 6th Berlin Biennale, Istanbul as part of the European Capital of Culture, Dubai during Art Dubai 2011, and Venice again to present the first pan-Arab show at the 54th Venice Biennale.
The story continues….
