Hicham Lahlou, born on February 6, 1973, in Rabat, is a Moroccan designer. Hicham Lahlou is a recognized figure in the world of architecture and design for popularizing design, portraying the image of a contemporary and creative Morocco, and pioneering industrial design in Morocco. His design is considered a blend of history, cultural references, heritage, and modernity.
Ahmed Bennani Multidisciplinary artist. Born in 1976, lives and works in Fez, and is a self-taught
Artist.
At first, like all children his age, Ahmed Bennani discovered drawing and its techniques at
school, and began by imitating what surrounded him with passion and love. For the young artist,
his hometown of Fez was a cavern of Ali Baba, where the colors and shapes of handicrafts
sprang up everywhere, vertical and horizontal lines and curves intertwined, and textures, aged
and renovated, enchanted the place. It's in this magical world that the young artist's talent will
blossom.
Mohammed Hamdouni is a PhD researcher in the Arts Department at the Alma Mater
Studiorum - University of Bologna, where he is working on a thesis on ethnomusicology and
anthropology of cultural expressions. He is also a graduate committee member at the
Center for Maghreb Studies at Arizona State University, and a lecturer at the Islamic
Academy of Brussels on the anthropology of habitat and space in the Islamic tradition. He
has a rich experience in cultural exchange and artistic creation, as he was an alumni fellow
in the cross cultures program of IFA, a German institute for international cultural relations.
He has also been one of the founders of Dar do art project, an initiative that aims to
promote contemporary art and culture in Fez Morocco, and the art director of takafes
project, a platform for cultural innovation and social change. He was also a jury member of
the Nawat Fez Art residency, a program that supports international artists actions in the
Medina of Fez.
Zineb Benjelloun is an illustrator and author based in Casablanca.Trained in visual arts and documentary film, she first worked for a TV channel before devoting herself to drawing and
writing. In her work, she celebrates the details of everyday life and questions how history
shapes us as individuals and societies.
Carina Hommel was born in 1987 and is a freelance artist and art educator from Germany. She works at the intersection of art and social work, mainly in the Ruhr Area. As a member of “Studio
Horst e.V.”, she implements projects and develops the region. Her art educational work ranges
from developing art projects in different jails to projects that give marginalized groups of people a
voice. In her own works, she combines different genres and techniques like film, video mapping,
sculpturing, painting and cyanotype.
After Evi Blink, born 1986 in Heidelberg Germany, finished her apprenticeship as photographer in 2011, she started to
work as a freelancer in Cologne and has worked for different clients: Aktion Mensch Magazin, Stadt Köln, Universität zu
Köln and others
Additionally she studies photography at the Fachhochschule Dortmund.
Evi's interest in general is to find experimental ways to describe issues in society, emotions and different processes.
Abstraction is a very important part of her works right now.
Her analog work "suchen.wissen.Amsterdam" is currently shown in a group exhibition in Bielefeld, Huelsmann Museum.
Latest she is working on a project about young women in Marrakech.
Meriam Ghandi is a versatile architect and artist based in Fes, Morocco. Her work is fueled by a deep interest in the intersections of identity, culture, architecture, environment, heritage, and
crafts within Morocco. After earning her architecture degree from the Paris Malaquais School of
Architecture in 2007, Ghandi focused on chimpanzee preservation at the Conkouati Douli
National Park in Congo, collaborating with organizations dedicated to animal and environmental
causes.
In 2008, Ghandi established her own practice in Fes, gaining recognition for her innovative
approach. She garnered attention in the international competition "Young Arab Architects" in
2012, leading to exhibitions of her projects at prestigious venues like the Arab World Institute in
Paris, the Venice Architecture Biennales, and the Qianxuesen Library in Shanghai.
Ghandi's notable project involved the development of Zouiat Ifrane village, characterized by a
citizen-driven, participatory, and environmentally conscious approach, aiming to stimulate
economic growth for its residents. She continued to make significant contributions, including a
social shopping center in Sefrou and the revival of an ancient souk in Errisani, both showcased
in the "ArcVision Prize-Women and Architecture" competition in 2014.
Professor in the Department of Design in EMADU UEMF Euromed in Fez. Polish artist and designer living in Morocco for 10 years. In her practice and research, she focuses on designing interactive games, mobile applications, augmented reality, motion design and video. As an intermedia artist she shows her work in individual and collective exhibitions in Europe, USA and Canada. As a pioneer of interactive art and net art in Poland, she created the first online art VR game in Poland (2000). Since 2004, she has been teaching new media art and design (among other places at the University of Humanities in Łódź and the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, Poland).
Philip Kojo Metz' father is Ghanaian, his mother German. He grew up in Sasbachwalden in the Black Forest. After assisting photographers and sculptors, he completed the specialist academy for photo design in Munich from 1994 to 1997, followed by a stay in Ghana. The first awards accompanied his path (second place in the Danner Prize in 1996 and winner in 2000, Reinhart Wolf Prize in 1998, Achenbach Art Promotion Prize in 1999) until he was accepted into the German National Academic Foundation in 2000. In 2003, he was a visiting student with the German video artist Marcel Odenbach at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne. In 2004, he was a Masters student of the German sculptor and object artist Olaf Metzel. After receiving his diploma in 2005, he was able to deepen his engagement with African-American culture in Brazil in 2006 as part of a DAAD scholarship. He received international attention for his work, SORRYFORNOTHING. The sculpture was exhibited in the Humboldt Forum in 2019 and has been present there ever since as a reminder of colonial history. As a sign of a different approach to colonial history, in which the victims are remembered, the German educational canon should be revised accordingly. [Bio source: Wikipedia]
Hamza El Fasiki is an artisan, author, and instructor. He received his MA in Moroccan cultural studies with a focus on Moroccan crafts from Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University in Fes, Morocco. A Fes native, he apprenticed under his father while learning Moroccan geometric patterns, brass engraving, and bookbinding. Hamza has traveled to sixteen countries, learning and teaching Moroccan culture. Hamza also provides Moroccan arts academic consulting through the organization he founded, CraftDraft.org , a multidisciplinary educational craft studio based in both Fes, Morocco and Portsmouth, England, where he currently resides.
Sofia Mellino is a multi-awarded audiovisual professional from Argentina. Specialised in Audiovision (UNLa) and with a postgraduate degree in film editing (LFS), among other courses and research residencies in South America, Germany, France and UK on traditional & immersive media formats, and their consequences on post-production workflows. Over the last 9 years, she has won seven international awards, two postgraduate scholarships, the Gründerstipendium NRW 2019 to build up her company SyncPhonia U.G. and has been recognized as the “Top 90 Female Argentinian Visual Artists of 2021”. She is also known as the "Urban Symphonies' Artist" for taking this undervalued film sub-genre and re-signifying it what she conceives today as, "the era of re-invention"; in works such as "Land-on, UKan" (2017), "URBANÚS; La Sinfonía Urbana de Lanús" (2018), and the world- acclaimed "FUTURE RUHR" (2022); the first fulldome film created entirely with 360 camera recordings attached on drones, with intense post-production on the original footage. Her works are characterised by her unique editing style where the equal power of the sound- image fusion prevails, and what is sought to be told can contribute value to society, such as in "malambE" (2021). Since 2019 she lives in her beloved Ruhrgebiet as a representative of Future Campus Ruhr NGO, building together the transformation of the city of Essen through the cooperation and exchange of creators and researchers, ideas, and projects, dedicated to the combination of Art, Science and Technology.
Architect Giordana Querceto graduated from the University of Naples. She has participated in urban planning and sustainability courses held both at the Federico II University of Naples and at the University Autonoma of Barcelona. She worked as a freelance architect collaborating with studios in Barcelona from 2000 to 2008. In 2008, she collaborated as Design Coordinator for the Dubai Metro Project with the Obayashi Corporation in Dubai. Since 2009, she has lived and worked as an architect in Hamburg and traveled around the world. She has been in more than 80 countries. Dealing with the themes of architecture, sustainability and travel, in 2010 she published the book Architectour, edited by Clean editions.
At the age of 7, Benjamin Beni picked up his first camera. The small foldable Minolta would
change his life. His initial passion was for portrait photography, a passion that would take him
around the globe twenty years later. Trained at MJM Paris from 1999 to 2002, he quickly began
selling his photos in the world of luxury and fashion.
There, he learned to combine technical precision and creativity, especially during his time at the
Harcourt studio and through demanding collaborations with groups like LVMH and France
Télévision.
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Over the years, he moved away from commissioned work to focus on the development of
collaborative artistic projects. His approach became both unique and collective. Portrait
photography emerged as a primary research axis, exploring universal themes. In 2012, he
received recognition from UNESCO for two of his projects: "Face à l'âme" and
"IDENTiTESproject," which were published in UNESCO's Courrier International. He ventured
out to meet the Other, questioning form and substance, creating fertile tensions, and revealing
photography where it is least expected.
An account of Bēni's work would be incomplete without mentioning his street creations. These
reflect his sensitivity to the question of art expression in public spaces. For an artist like him,
expressing oneself beyond walls is a conscious participation in the succession of ephemeral
traces and signs etched into the urban landscape. It is both giving and receiving in equal
measure.
Abdelhamid Belahmidi is a Moroccan conceptual and documentary photographer, based in
Casablanca. He uses photography to give an artistic expression to the invisibility of his living
experiences.
Through his series “Where is the Sea” and “Copy machine” he projects his artistic approach,
representing his experience as an employee, symbolizing different emotions he goes through,
trying to overcome a living system of modernism and massive consumption, in an allegoric
representation of ourselves into a hyper connected society.
In 2021 he co-founded the Collective “Kan3awd” that aims to tell visual stories through
photography and filmmaking, working on topics related to post-modern society and people in
constant change. His works were exhibited at Sharjah Art Foundation for VPS8 (2020) and
VPS10 (2022). And featured in group exhibitions at PHotoESPAÑA, Madrid (2018); and
Cordoba Photography Biennale (2018).
Ann Schomburg is a multidisciplinary artist based in Berlin, Germany. Her work encapsulates the intricate interplay between memories, emotions, and artistic expression, often drawing from personal experiences and cultural narratives. With a rich educational background and an array of creative ventures, Ann's artistry is a testament to her diverse talents and commitment to exploring the complexities of the human experience.
Ms. Wafae BELARBI is a professor of higher education and director of the Euromed School of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning at the Euromed University in Fez. Since 2012, she has been a professor at the Ecole Nationale d'Architecture de Rabat and, as head of the teaching coordination department, has played an active role in the reform of higher architectural education in Morocco. She is a member of the doctoral studies center at ENA Rabat and has taught for many years at the doctoral school of the Institut National d'Aménagement et d'Urbanisme. She is also a member of the "Habitat, Architecture et Urbanisation des Territoires" Laboratory at the Ecole Nationale d'Architecture de Rabat and an active member of the doctoral studies center at Euormed. At EMADU, she teaches architecture workshops and supervises several doctoral theses.
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