HIBA BADDOU
EN
Hiba Baddou (b. March 1, 1997, Rabat, Morocco) is a filmmaker, photographer, painter, performer, and art director. Deeply influenced by her homeland, she developed an early passion for storytelling through diverse visual languages. Her practice explores themes of identity, ritual, and language, blending retro-futuristic aesthetics with Moroccan cultural influences.
She graduated in filmmaking from the International Film School (EICAR) in Paris in 2018, where she received the EICAR Award for Best Direction and Best Cinematography for her graduation film. She later pursued a master’s in Art Direction at Penninghen (2019–2023), refining her distinctive visual approach and earning a special mention chaired by Jean Charles de Castelbajac.
Her work as a painter has been exhibited in major institutions such as Bab El Kebir in Rabat (under the auspices of the Moroccan Ministry of Culture and the Institut Français) and the Villa des Arts in Rabat and Casablanca. As a filmmaker and photographer, she has exhibited at the Photography Museum with the National Moroccan Museum Foundation. She gained international recognition with Paraboles, a multidisciplinary project exploring the impact of imagery on migration. Her short film “The Sacralization of Images” was selected for several international film festivals, won first prize at the AVIFF Art Film Festival in 2024, and received the prestigious Art for Change Prize at the Saatchi Gallery in London. Hiba has also presented her work at the International Dakar Biennale 2024, at the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL) in Marrakech, and will be featured at Paris Photo at the Grand Palais in November 2025.
Alongside her personal practice, Baddou has collaborated as an art director with musicians such as David August, Manu Chao, Keziah Jones, and Amadou & Mariam, designing original album covers and visual identities. Her passion for calligraphy and improvisation, often inspired by music, has also led to live performances, notably at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.
Hiba continues to expand the boundaries of contemporary art, weaving photography, painting, film, and performance into a practice that questions the role of imagery and tradition in the modern world.
FR
Hiba Baddou (née le 1er mars 1997 à Rabat, Maroc) est cinéaste, photographe, peintre, performeuse et directrice artistique. Profondément influencée par sa terre natale, elle développe très tôt une passion pour la narration à travers différents langages visuels. Son travail explore les thèmes de l’identité, du rituel et des langues, en mêlant esthétique rétrofuturiste et influences culturelles marocaines.
Diplômée en réalisation de l’École Internationale de Cinéma (EICAR) à Paris en 2018, où elle a reçu le Prix de la meilleure mise en scène et celui de la meilleure photographie pour son film de fin d’études, elle poursuit ensuite un master en direction artistique à Penninghen (2019–2023), où elle affine son approche visuelle singulière, distinguée par une mention spéciale decernée par Jean Charles de Castelbajac.
Son travail de peintre a été exposé dans plusieurs institutions majeures, notamment à Bab El Kebir à Rabat (sous l’égide du Ministère marocain de la Culture et de l’Institut Français) ainsi qu’aux Villas des Arts de Rabat et Casablanca. En tant que cinéaste et photographe, Hiba a exposé au Musée de la Photographie avec la Fondation Nationale des Musées du Maroc. Elle a acquis une reconnaissance internationale avec Paraboles, un projet pluridisciplinaire explorant l’impact des images sur les migrations. Son court-métrage, “La Sacralisation des Images” a été sélectionné dans plusieurs festivals internationaux, remportant le premier prix au AVIFF Art Film Festival en 2024, ainsi que le prestigieux Art for Change Prize de la Saatchi Gallery de Londres. Le travail de Hiba a également été présenté à la Biennale de Dakar 2024, exposé au MACAAL (Musée d’Art Contemporain Africain Al Maaden) à Marrakech, et sera présenté à Paris Photo au Grand Palais en Novembre 2025.
En parallèle de sa pratique personnelle, Hiba a collaboré comme directrice artistique avec des musiciens tels que David August, Manu Chao, Keziah Jones et Amadou & Mariam, pour lesquels elle a conçu des pochettes d’album et des identités visuelles originales. Sa passion pour la calligraphie et l’improvisation artistique, souvent nourrie par la musique, l’a également menée à des performances en direct, notamment à l’Institute of Contemporary Arts de Londres.
Hiba continue aujourd’hui de repousser les frontières de l’art contemporain en tissant photographie, peinture, cinéma et performance dans une démarche qui interroge la place des images et des traditions dans le monde moderne.
update : 09/2025
EXHIBITIONS, AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
13-16/11/2025 : PARIS PHOTO FAIR, GRAND PALAIS, PARIS, FRANCE
LOFT ART GALLERY BOOTH
09/2025 - 12/2026: SOLO SHOW AT MACAAL (Museum of Contemporary African Art Al Maaden) IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE FRENCH INSTITUTE OF MOROCCO, MARRAKECH, MOROCCO
10/2025 - 12/2025 : PAINTING GROUP SHOW - GALERIE DE LA BANQUE POPULAIRE, RABAT, MOROCCO
07/2025 - 12/2025 : PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP SHOW - NATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY MUSEUM, RABAT, MOROCCO
11/2024 - 01/2025: GLOBAL WINNER - ART FOR CHANGE PRIZE, EXHIBITION AT SAATCHI GALLERY, LONDON, UK
11-12/2024: INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, BIENNALE DE DAKAR, Curated by Salimata Diop, DAKAR, SENEGAL
10-12/2024: GROUP SHOW - SALON OF CASABLANCA FOR EMERGING CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS, Villa des Arts, CASABLANCA, MOROCCO
09/2024: GROUP SHOW & NOMINATION FOR THE MUSTAQBAL PRIZE, TGCC FOUNDATION, CASABLANCA, MOROCCO
05/2024: FIRST PRIZE IN OFFICIAL COMPETITION FOR “PARABOLES” AT CANNES ART FILM FESTIVAL (AVIFF), FRANCE
05/10/2024: LIVE CALLIGRAPHY PERFORMANCE - MUSIC BY DAVID AUGUST, ICA (INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS), LONDON, UK
20/04/2024: LIVE CALLIGRAPHY PERFORMANCE - MUSIC BY DAVID AUGUST, 99CHANTS NIGHT, AKTIONHAUS, BERLIN, GERMANY
01/2024: OFFICIAL SELECTION & COMPETITION FOR “PARABOLES” AT SNOWDANCE FILM FESTIVAL, ESSEN, GERMANY
09/2024: HONORABLE MENTION FOR “PARABOLES” AT NEW YORK EXPERIMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL, USA
06/2023: OFFICIAL SELECTION & COMPETITION FOR “PARABOLES” AT LES NUITS MÉDITERRANÉENNES FESTIVAL, CORSICA, FRANCE
05-08/2023: STREET ART & HERITAGE EXHIBITION 10/10 BY AL MADA FOUNDATION, CASABLANCA AND RABAT, MOROCCO
Group exhibition and live performance at the Villas des Arts in Casablanca and Rabat, sponsored by the Al Mada Foundation in partnership with ArtFirst Gallery (May 8 - July 15, 2023).
01/2023: EXHIBITION & LIVE PERFORMANCE AT REFUGE WORLDWIDE RADIO, BERLIN, GERMANY
Exhibition and live painting performance to raise funds for the Iranian women's support organization Woman, Life, Freedom at Refuge Worldwide Radio in Berlin.
05-07/2022: PHOTO EXHIBITION “POINTS DE VUE”, ABLA ABABOU GALLERY, RABAT, MOROCCO
10-11/2021: SOLO SHOW “OSMOSES” IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND THE FRENCH INSTITUTE OF RABAT, AT BAB EL KÉBIR, MOROCCO
Painting exhibition sponsored by Mehdi Qotbi, artist and President of the Moroccan Museum Foundation. Exhibition art direction and scenography by myself.
ART DIRECTION
2023-2024: IMAGE ART DIRECTOR AT BECAUSE MUSIC
Art direction and visual concepts for Manu Chao, Amadou & Mariam, Les Liminanas, Keziah Jones, Brand Brauer Frick. Visual support for Camille, Magenta Club, Justice.
2025: ART DIRECTION AND ARTWORK FOR THE ALBUM L’AMOUR A LA FOLIE BY AMADOU & MARIAM
07-10/2024: ART DIRECTION FOR FADED, UPCOMING ALBUM BY LES LIMINANAS
05-07/2024: ART DIRECTION FOR THE ALBUM ALIVE & KICKING BY KEZIAH JONES, INCLUDING ARTWORK & PRESS PHOTOS
04-05/2024: ART DIRECTION AND CURATION OF AMADOU & MARIAM’S BEST OF, WITH ARTWORK BY JP MIKA (Courtesy of Galerie Magnin-A)
2023-2024: ART DIRECTION AND CREATION OF THE VISUAL IDENTITY FOR THE ALBUM VIVA TU BY MANU CHAO, IN COLLABORATION WITH DEL NUNES
02/2024: ART DIRECTION AND CREATION OF THE ARTWORK FOR THE SINGLE MOGOLU BY AMADOU & MARIAM
01/2024: VISUAL CONCEPT AND CREATION OF THE ARTWORK FOR THE PIANO RELEASE MULTI-FAITH PRAYER ROOM BY BRAND BRAUER FRICK
FREELANCE
2022-2023: COLLABORATION AND CREATION OF THE IMAGINARY ALPHABET FOR THE ALBUM VĪS BY DAVID AUGUST, BERLIN
Art direction, typography work, and creation of an imaginary alphabet concept for VIS inspired by David August's music: album cover, creation of an artbook, adaptations across various media, video, and merchandising.
04-08/2022: ART DIRECTION FOR ACNE ADVERTISING, STOCKHOLM
Art direction, graphic design, editing, and motion design for the Stockholm Museum of Modern Art, The Every, Netflix, Spotify, TikTok, Zalando...
BRAND COLLA-BORATIONS
2023-2024: HIBA (OSMOSES) x ARK WINES
Creation of illustrated labels for the wine brand Ark Wines, London, UK
STUDIES
2019-2023: MASTER'S DEGREE IN ART DIRECTION AT PENNINGHEN, PARIS
2019-2023: Degree with Special Mention / Jury Prize awarded by Jean Charles de Castelbajac
2018-2019: Foundation Year (Applied Arts)
2015-2018: BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN FILMMAKING AT THE INTERNATIONAL FILM SCHOOL (EICAR), PARIS
2018: EICAR PRIZE for Best Direction and Best Cinematography for “Cité” (graduation film)
2012-2015: HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA IN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SCIENCES AT LYCEE DESCARTES, RABAT, MOROCCO