MENA Canvas Recommends

Hassan Hajjaj remains one of the leading voices in contemporary Arab art. This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to experience his distinctive visual language in one of London’s most influential cultural spaces.

A New London Chapter

Hassan Hajjaj’s new solo exhibition at Sotheby’s London, My London Rockstars: Ends to Estates, marks a significant moment for contemporary MENA art in the city, highlighting a new generation of London creatives through the distinctive vision of one of today’s most influential Moroccan-British artists. 

Extending his celebrated My Rockstars series into London’s estates and inner-city neighbourhoods, the project connects Arab and North African visual languages with the capital’s evolving cultural landscape.

Exhibition Details

Opening at Sotheby’s Story Café on New Bond Street from 13 July to 7 August 2026, the exhibition transforms the café into one of Hajjaj’s signature tea salons, immersing visitors in an environment of saturated colour, bold patterns and improvised sculptural displays. Presented in collaboration with Vigo Gallery, the show brings together iconic works alongside a new body of portraits focused on London’s contemporary creative scene, positioning it as a key chapter in Hajjaj’s ongoing dialogue between Morocco and Britain.

The My London Rockstars: Ends to Estates portraits celebrate emerging and established figures shaping London culture today, including artist Slawn and the Motherlan collective, designer Clint419, rapper Central Cee, filmmaker Walid Labri and musician Joy Crookes, among others. As in earlier iterations of My Rockstars, sitters are photographed in carefully constructed sets, framed by grids of everyday consumer products and textiles that reference North African markets while riffing on global branding and street style.

Visitors can expect an intimate yet exuberant atmosphere, blurring the boundaries between gallery, café and social space, and underscoring Hajjaj’s commitment to portraying diasporic communities on their own terms.

Why It Matters

This London chapter of My Rockstars is especially significant for MENA art, reaffirming Hajjaj’s role as a key voice in articulating the complexity of Arab and African diasporic identities in Europe, and situating the everyday “rockstars” of London’s estates within an international art context.

Plan Your Visit

Venue: Sotheby's, London
Location: 34–35 New Bond Street, London W1A 2AA, UK
Opening Date: 13 July 2026
Closing Date: 7 August 2026
Official Exhibition Website