Throughout May, Thump Coffee in downtown Bend will exhibit “Push Tunisia,” a collection of recent skateboarding photos, art decks and other mixed media works from Tunisia, birthplace of the “Arab Spring” revolutions. Thump Coffee will be open late for First Friday Art Walk, May 4.

“Push Tunisia” is a project of local non-profit collaborative theBedouins, a group of mutli-national skaters, filmers, photographers and artists with a focus on the middle eastern youth.

“The crew used skateboarding and art as a way to interact with the local Tunisian youth and captured the energy of post-revolution Tunisia,” explain Nathan and Esther Gray, founders of theBedouins. “This collection will accompany a skate documentary, “Push Tunisia,” that will be released this year.”

theBedouins mission: “Pushing skateboarding and street art as instruments of peace.” The vision behind the group’s efforts is to “contribute to the enhancement of world peace, with a commitment to inspire peaceful resolution of conflicts through human experiences that resonate across divides.”

Jesse Roberts from local nonprofit Rise Up International also joined theBoudins trip to Tunisia.

For details, visit www.pushtunisia.org and www.thebedouins.org.

Every month, Thump Coffee exhibits local artists’ works, and in 2010 Thump was recognized with an “Artie Award” from the Arts & Culture Council for Central Oregon. Thump Coffee is located in the heart of downtown Bend at 25 NW Minnesota Ave. For hours and info, call 541-388-0226.