Let's Walk to Saudi: Saudi Students' Self-Representation on Facebook.com

This thesis investigates issues of representation from multiple perspectives, but particularly those of the self and other as occurring in the West and in Saudi cultures. It also critically reflects on the methodology, conceptual thinking and artistic process of working on the thesis project Let’s Walk To Saudi. Popular cultural media and the role it plays in creating and perpetuating stereotypes was the initial motivation behind the thesis and was central to the media-based project. Artists and practitioners have begun to investigate similar issues within the context of art production using social media as a form of participatory art practice. An analysis of comparative art projects are included in the examples that contextualize Let’s Walk To Saudi. Let’s Walk To Saudi is a project that established an online community platform on Facebook enabling Saudi students around the world—there are more than 80,000 internationally—to share unedited stories about their experiences abroad, and receive feedback from others in the form of writings, photos, audio, and video clips. The project began by inviting Saudi students studying abroad to represent themselves, challenge themselves to face their fears, rethink cultural boundaries, and question their own preconceptions towards others, while also considering the others’ (Westerners’) preconceptions about Arabs and Muslims. The thesis explores cultural, political and social forms of representation and self-representation between home and abroad. By using social media, the project explores and encourages better communication, increases awareness about individuals from other cultures, and ultimately sets out to challenge stereotypes.