[7][8] 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.

[citation needed] 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[11] where he became intrigued by the work of the artists he met there.

[16] In September 2014, he launched (at the Rothko Chapel) 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.

[28] 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.