'Can I jump?'
PALESTINIAN ARTIST AT MEXICO/US BORDER
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has promised to build a wall on the border of the US and Mexico. Palestinian artist Khaled Jarrar is one of the Cultrunners, a group of 10 Middle Eastern artists exploring the ideological boundaries between the US and the Middle East.
In September of 2014, CULTURUNNERS set out from Houston, Texas in a converted 34ft 1999 Gulf Stream RV, on a mission to mobilize artists across one of the most contested ideological borders of our time - that of the United States and Middle East. To date, the CULTURUNNERS RV has traveled over 13,000 miles, teaming up with over 50 artists in 25 States across America. Along the way, we have hosted dozens of community events, exhibitions and spontaneous encounters, in search of interconnected histories and common concerns across borders.
As the hajj begins once again, Saudi artist Ahmed Mater has revealed unprecedented changes to the holy city – from flashy new hotels to the loss of priceless neighbourhoods. In the third episode of Crossing the Line, our series connecting the US and Middle East, he takes us inside Islam’s urban heart.