IMAGE 2
HASSAN HAJJAJ
MOROCCO · 1961–PRESENT
Lived & Worked
United Kingdom, Morocco
Period
Contemporary
Mediums
Photography, Installation, Mixed Media, Video & Film
BIOGRAPHY
Hassan Hajjaj is a Moroccan-British artist whose photography, installation and design have reshaped how contemporary North African identity is pictured within a global visual culture. Born in Larache in 1961, he moved to London in the mid-1970s, an early dislocation that seeded a lifelong dialogue between Moroccan vernacular and British street style. Self-taught, he entered the creative economy of 1980s London through club culture, fashion and music, launching the label R.A.P. before turning to photography in the 1990s.
His portraits, often described as pop yet rooted in the studio traditions of Malick Sidibé, Seydou Keïta and Samuel Fosso, restage the codes of Western fashion imagery through Moroccan patterning, market-sourced textiles and hand-built frames of recycled packaging. Series such as *Kesh Angels*, *My Rock Stars* and *Vogue: The Arab Issue* have defined his authorship, foregrounding Arab and African women, musicians and everyday sitters with equal presence.
International recognition followed his shortlisting for the Victoria and Albert Museum's Jameel Prize in 2009 and the Sovereign African Art Prize in 2011. His first Paris retrospective opened at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in 2019, followed by touring iterations of *Vogue: The Arab Issue* at Fotografiska Stockholm, New York and Tallinn.
Hassan Hajjaj's work is held by the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Museum, LACMA, the Brooklyn Museum, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, MAXXI and the National Gallery of Victoria, among others, positioning him as a defining voice in contemporary MENA and diaspora photography.
Arabic Artist Record — Download Full PDF
Available
Exhibitions
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2026
Hassan Hajjaj, My London Rockstars: Ends to Estates
Sotheby's London
2025
Hassan Hajjaj
193 Gallery, 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London
2024
FIQ
L'Atelier 21, Casablanca
2024
Hassan Hajjaj: AlUla 1445
AlJadidah Arts District, AlUla Arts Festival, AlUla
2023
1444
SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah
2023
Gnawa Capoeira Brothahood
Sharjah Biennial 15, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah
2022
VOGUE, The Arab Issue
Fotografiska, Tallinn
2021
My Rockstars
Yossi Milo Gallery, New York
2021
VOGUE, The Arab Issue
Fotografiska, New York
2020
Hassan Hajjaj: A Taste of Things to Come
Barakat Contemporary, Seoul
2020
Hassan Hajjaj: The Path
Arnolfini, Bristol
2020
VOGUE, The Arab Issue
Fotografiska, Stockholm
2019
Carte Blanche à Hassan Hajjaj
Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris
2019
Hassan Hajjaj: From the Streets of Marrakech to the Heart of Abu Dhabi
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi
2019
Hassan Hajjaj: The Path
New Art Exchange, Nottingham
2017
My Maroc Stars
L'Atelier 21, Casablanca
2017
Noss Noss
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
2017
La Salle de Gym des Femmes Arabes
Al Riwaq Art Space, Manama
2017
La Caravane
Somerset House, London
2016
My Rock Stars Vol. 1
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis
2016
Colors of Gnaoua
Borj Bab Marrakesh, Essaouira
2016
La Salle de Gym des Femmes Arabes
The Third Line, Dubai
2016
Karima: A Day in the Life of a Henna Girl
British Museum, London
2016
Stylin'
Colette Art Gallery, Paris
2015
My Rock Stars Vol. 1
Newark Museum, Newark; Worcester Art Museum, Worcester
2015
Karima: A Day in the Life of a Henna Girl
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; Art Basel Film Sector, Basel; Centre Pompidou, Paris
2014
Kesh Angels
Taymour Grahne Gallery, New York
2014
My Rock Stars: Volume 2
Gusford Gallery, Los Angeles
2013
My Rock Stars: Experimental, Volume 1
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
2013
My Rock Stars: Volume 1
The Third Line, Dubai
2013
My Rock Stars: Volume 1
VCU Qatar Gallery, Doha
2013
Vogue: The Arab Issue
Aria Art Gallery, Florence
2012
My Rockstars: Volume 1
The Third Line, Dubai
2012
Mi Casa es tu Casa
Marrakech Biennale 4, Marrakech
2011
Marque Deposée
Matisse Gallery, Marrakech
2011
Mi Casa es tu Casa
Matisse Gallery, Marrakech
2010
Kesh Angels
Rose Issa Projects, London
2010
My Beautiful Rubbish
Freies Museum, Berlin
2009
1430 in Casa
Matisse Gallery, Casablanca
2009
Dakka Marrakech
8th Bamako Encounters African Photography Biennial, Bamako
2009
Le Salon
The Chapter Gallery, Cardiff
2008
Dakka Marrakech
Rose Issa Projects at Leighton House Museum, London
2008
Noss Noss: Photographic Works and Other Moroccan Stories
The Third Line, Doha
2007
Noss Noss: Photographic Works and Other Moroccan Stories
The Third Line, Dubai
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024
Martial Arts
Wereldmuseum, Amsterdam
2024
Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys
Brooklyn Museum, New York
2023
A World in Common: Contemporary African Photography
Tate Modern, London
2023
The Culture: Hip-Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century
Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis
2023
Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize
National Portrait Gallery, London
2023
Africa Supernova
Kunsthal KAdE, Amersfoort
2023
Shift: Music, Meaning, Context
Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College Chicago, Chicago
2023
Thinking Historically in the Present
Sharjah Biennial 15, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah
2023
Perpetual Inventory, Volume 1: An Exercise in Looking
The Third Line, Dubai
2022
Overdose
Design Museum Holon, Holon
2022
Art, a Serious Game
MACAAL, Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden, Marrakech
2022
Pop Stars! Popular Culture and Contemporary Art
21c Museum, Chicago
2022
Mi Casa Su Casa
Hannah Traore Gallery, New York
2021
Bridges for Communities: The Path Leads to Bristol
Arnolfini, Bristol
2021
Welcome Home Vol. II
MACAAL, Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden, Marrakech
2021
Song Without Words: The Art of Music
Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor
2020
CONTACT HIGH: A Visual History of Hip-Hop
International Center of Photography, New York
2020
Between the Sun and Moon
Lahore Biennale, Lahore
2019
African Spirits
Yossi Milo Gallery, New York
2019
Icons of Style: A Century of Fashion Photography
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
2019
Get Up, Stand Up Now: Generations of Black Creative Pioneers
Somerset House, London
2019
The Space of the Image, MAXXI Collection 2018–2019
MAXXI, Rome
2019
Material Insanity
MACAAL, Marrakech
2019
A Queen Within: Adorned Archetypes
MoPOP Museum of Pop Culture, Seattle
2019
Contemporary Muslim Fashions
Museum Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt
2018
Contemporary Muslim Fashions
de Young Museum, San Francisco
2018
African Metropolis: An Imaginary City
MAXXI, Rome
2018
Talisman in the Age of Difference
Stephen Friedman Gallery, London
2018
Al Musiqa
Philharmonie de Paris, Paris
2018
Un Œil Ouvert sur le Monde Arabe
Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris
2017
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
Royal Academy of Arts, London
2017
Treasures of Islam in Africa: From Timbuktu to Zanzibar
Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris
2017
Africa Pop Studio
Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs
2017
Afriques Capitales
Gare Saint Sauveur, Lille; La Villette, Paris
2017
African-Print Fashion Now!
Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles
2016
Made You Look: Dandyism and Black Masculinity
The Photographers' Gallery, London
2016
Fashion Cities Africa
Brighton Museum, Brighton
2016
Making & Unmaking
Camden Arts Centre, London
2016
Islamic Art Now: Contemporary Art of the Middle East, Part 2
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
2015
Islamic Art Now: Contemporary Art of the Middle East
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
2015
Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design
Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein; Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao
2015
Reality of My Surroundings
Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham
2015
Arts & Food
La Triennale di Milano, Milan
2015
A Curious Blindness
Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University, New York
2014
The Future of Fashion is Now
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
2014
True to Life? New Photography from the Middle East
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham
2014
Fútbol: The Beautiful Game
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
2013
Au Bazar du Genre
MUCEM, Marseille
2013
Chaos into Clarity: Re-Possessing a Funktioning Utopia
Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah
2012
Light from the Middle East
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
2011
Photoquai
Musée du quai Branly, Paris
2010
Le Salon for the Jameel Prize (touring)
Sakıp Sabancı Museum, Istanbul; Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation, Sharjah; Beiteddine Palace, Beiteddine; National Museum, Damascus; National Museum, Riyadh
2009
Le Salon for the Jameel Prize
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
2005
Africa Remix
Hayward Gallery, London
2005
Contemporary African Visual Arts
British Museum, London
2005
Fashion in Motion: Africa
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
2004
Black British Style
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Public Collections
United Kingdom
British Museum, London
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Brighton Museum, Brighton
France
Institut des Cultures d'Islam, Paris
Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris
Italy
MAXXI, National Museum of 21st Century Arts, Rome
Netherlands
Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam
Switzerland
Nicola Erni Collection, Steinhausen
United States
Brooklyn Museum, New York
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham
Newark Museum, Newark
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond
Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs
Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis
21c Museum, Louisville
Richard and Ellen Sandor Family Collection, Chicago
Morocco
Musée d'Art Contemporain Africain Al Maaden (MACAAL), Marrakech
United Arab Emirates
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi
Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah
Farjam Collection, Dubai
Tunisia
Kamel Lazaar Foundation, Tunis
Australia
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Canada
Wedge Collection, Wedge Curatorial Projects, Toronto
Publications
BY THE ARTIST
2013
Hassan Hajjaj: Photography, Fashion, Film, Design
Rose Issa Projects and Taymour Grahne Gallery
2008
Dakka Marrakech
Beyond Art Publication
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS ABOUT THE ARTIST
2019
Hassan Hajjaj: Carte Blanche
Simon Njami
Maison Européenne de la Photographie
2014
Kesh Angels
Rose Issa (editor)
Rose Issa Projects
Auction Highlights
2025 Highlights
Che Lovelace Standin'
Estimate 6,000-9,000 USD
Realised Price 26,670 USD
BB Stance
Estimate 6,000 - 8,000 GBP
Realised Price 7,620 GBP
Miriam
Estimate 8,000-12,000 USD
Realised Price 7,560 USD
2023 Highlights
Love Maroc
Work sold to benefit Assafou Association in support of the earthquake victims of Morocco
Estimate 10,000-15,000 GBP
Realised Price 18,900 GBP
2020 Highlights
HASSAN HAJJAJ | EXCHANGE
Estimate 8,000 - 12,000 USD
Realised Price 17,500 USD
2017 Highlights
Bouchra in Da Derb
Bonham's, London
Realised Price 6,125 GBP
Awards & Accolades
2016
Officer of the Wissam Al Moukafaa Al Wataniya
Kingdom of Morocco
2014
Certificate of Recognition
City of Los Angeles, State of California
2014
Pulse Prize
Pulse Art Fair, New York
2011
Sovereign African Art Prize
Sovereign Art Foundation
2009
Jameel Prize (Shortlisted)
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
References
Hassan Hajjaj Feautured Artworks
Cover: Hassan Hajjaj, still from My Rock Stars Experimental, Volume 1, Alo Wala, 2012, LACMA courtesy of Rose Issa Projects
https://www-images.lacma.org/s3fs-public/Hassan%20Hajjaj%20backgrounder%2012.10.13.pdf
Che Lovelace Standin'
Courtesy of Phillips
https://www.phillips.com/detail/hassan-hajjaj/213106
Bouchra in Da Derb
Courtesy of Bonhams
https://www.bonhams.com/auction/24210/lot/70/hassan-hajjaj-morocco-born-1961-bouchra-in-da-derb/
BB Stance
Courtesy of Sotheby's
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2025/modern-contemporary-middle-east-l25229/bb-stance