Art & Culture

7 North African Creative Directors You’ll Wish You Knew Sooner

BYYassine Hariss

April 20, 2026

Representation is rarely neutral. Forever in history, the instruments of power dictating how one is seen have remained concentrated in the hands of a narrow few that were mostly Western and, more times than not, very disconnected from the realities they claimed to frame. And in doing so, they also managed to flatten entire regions into digestible, often distorted narratives that rarely reflected them in full; starting from ours.

Luckily, a new generation of creative directors from our neck of the woods has stepped up, seizing every opportunity to reclaim authorship over their own image. While the Middle East is increasingly visible across global platforms, North Africa still lags behind, too often drowned by broad, catch-all notions of “Arab” that blur its contours, dilute its codes, and collapse a region of distinct histories, languages, and aesthetics into something far more monolithic than it has ever been.

To put the focus back where it belongs, here are seven North African creative directors worth keeping close tabs on.

Haouari Arij (TUN)

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Une publication partagée par Haouarij (@haouari.arij)

Tunis-born, raised, and based, Haouria Arij is among the few creatives actively pushing things forward in the Mediterranean state, focusing on the intersection of image, music, and scene-building. A director, video editor, as well as a graphic designer, the young multi-hyphenate has handled a wide number of cultural projects, across different platforms and various formats, including video clips for Tunisian rap heavyweight Samara. Beyond the frame, her presence also extends into the country’s electronic circuit where she’s often called in to help events take form, such as Fabrika Festival, one of the most popular happenings of the kind in the North African country.

Bouka 212 (MAR)

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Une publication partagée par Bouka (@bouka_212)

Paris-based Moroccan creative Bouka thinks, works, and operates with a clear fixation on 1990s Americana, filtering it through a North African lens he never dilutes. His visual language pulls from that same canon— think Tupac, Biggie, De Niro, Scorsese — spliced with mid-2000s football nostalgia, all of it colliding across both his personal output and Midnight Sports, the collective he co-founded. Positioned somewhere between image-making and community-building, the platform extends into football watch parties and hybrid music-fashion gatherings. Previous clients include Nike Football and New Balance, amongst many others.

Salma Srour (EGY)

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Une publication partagée par Salma (@salmasrour)

Both a photographer and director, Salma Srour was raised in the United States and is now based in Cairo. Working between documentary and fiction, her practice centers on everyday scenes that are often overlooked, reframed through a lens that renders them soft, sometimes even slightly ethereal. With a lens that gravitates toward themes of memory, femininity, and lived experience, her work has attracted commissions from a range of global and regional names, including Apple, Spotify, Capitol Records, Kotn, and Okhtein, and also appeared in Dazed Middle East, Vogue Arabia, Hypebeast, and Office Magazine.

Mayra Hocine (ALG)

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Une publication partagée par mayra (@mayrahocine)

Another North African creative based out of Paris, Mayra Hocine has built a presence that moves fluidly between France, her native Algeria, and the UAE, where she is regularly commissioned. Her work carries a certain consistency— clean, assured, and culturally attuned. She often collaborates with Algerian-Egyptian content creator and fashion enthusiast Fahd El, with whom she has delivered projects for Puma Middle East, Dazed, and Kenzo. Independently, she has worked with 2022 FIFA World Cup Finalist Randal Kolo Muani, styled for This Is Yung, among other high-profile names, titles and figures.

Souma Endisha (LIBY)

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Une publication partagée par Souma Endisha (@soumae)

A model, a clothing brand founder, creative director, and cultural consultant, it almost feels like days run longer than 24 hours for Libyan Souma Endisha. In front of and behind the camera, she’s constantly reworking how labels are perceived, making sure their message lands with the youth while playing an active part in the culture she’s trying to build around them. Featured in some of the region’s most respected titles, including Marie Claire Arabia, Scene Styled, and Identity Magazine, despite her young age, she’s already moving ahead of the curve.

Moz (ALG)

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Une publication partagée par Moz (@moz.____)

For those working across art, culture, and entertainment, it’s understood that photographers rarely wear just one hat; and Moz is no exception, operating as both image-maker and creative director. A true multi-hyphenate, he has helped shape the visual identity of a range of figures and projects, from shooting Algerian actor Younes Boucif and working with Moroccan rapper Hamza on a recent single release to photographing the one and only Zinedine Zidane. Drawn to analog textures and a certain rawness, his work leans heavily on grain, light, and proximity, with the subject almost always taking center stage.

Taqwa Bint Ali (TUN)

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Une publication partagée par adidas Originals (@adidasoriginals)

In the years since Taqwa Bint Ali has been active, there’s quite frankly not much she hasn’t done yet. Active since the late 2010s, she’s worked across a wide-variety of commissions and tasks, including styling, casting, and creative direction. Early visibility came through campaigns with houses like Fendi and Jean Paul Gaultier before she gradually shifted to behind the scenes, shaping images rather than simply embodying them. Her work today spans projects with Adidas — where she co-designed a pair — and Levi’s, alongside short films shot between Paris and Tunisia. Consistently centering women, community, and multiplicity, her visuals avoid spectacle in favor of intention, offering a perspective that is both grounded and expansive without ever needing to overstate itself.

7 North African Creative Directors You’ll Wish You Knew Sooner

Haouari Arij (TUN)

Bouka 212 (MAR)

Salma Srour (EGY)

Mayra Hocine (ALG)

Souma Endisha (LIBY)

Moz (ALG)

Taqwa Bint Ali (TUN)

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7 North African Creative Directors You’ll Wish You Knew Sooner

Haouari Arij (TUN)

Bouka 212 (MAR)

Salma Srour (EGY)

Mayra Hocine (ALG)

Souma Endisha (LIBY)

Moz (ALG)

Taqwa Bint Ali (TUN)

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