Stephen Stapleton

Stephen Stapleton is a British-Norwegian entrepreneur and founder of EOA. Following a year-long artist road trip across the Middle East in 2002-3, Stephen founded Edge of Arabia (EOA) as an independent platform for creative collaboration between East and West. EOA now operates across multiple regions, applying its purpose-driven model to bring art and creativity from the edge of society to its center. In 2015, Stephen established CULTURUNNERS as EOA’s not-for-profit arm, dedicated exclusively to social impact. In 2020, Stephen launched Healing Arts as a series of city and country-wide activations to support an art-world response to the pandemic; and in 2023, co-founded the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, New York University, and Community Jameel. Stephen has produced over fifty international exhibitions, including at the British Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Smithsonian Institute, Kennedy Center, Brooklyn Museum, United Nations and four times at the Venice Biennale.

About the Jameel Arts & Health Lab: Launched in January 2023 by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, the Steinhardt School at New York University, Community Jameel, and Culturunners, the Jameel Arts & Health Lab is a global initiative to measurably improve health and wellbeing through the arts. With a focus on overlooked and underserved communities, the Lab leverages scientific evidence, artist-led advocacy, and capacity building to drive the integration of the arts into mainstream healthcare. jameelartshealthlab.org