Dazed 100 MENA 2024: discover trailblazers in fashion, music and activism

The Dazed 100 is back! This year, we launched Dazed Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and to celebrate the occasion, we’re publishing our first ever Dazed 100 list which features inspiring change-makers exclusively from the MENA region. The up-and-coming trailblazers from the worlds of fashion, beauty, music and more have each been carefully selected by the Dazed MENA editorial team.

See the Dazed 100 MENA list here. To forge your own creative community, join Dazed Club now.

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@crinjaat Entertainment

Crinjaat

Crinjaat is an Egyptian meme account with a political, feminist, pro-Palestine lens on the Arab digital world, articulated with both a sense of humour and solidarity. The account began in the pandemic, collating local content creators’ work to highlight on-the-ground issues and the enduring vibrancy of their lives.

A pivotal moment came when Crinjaat actively supported the burgeoning Egyptian feminist movement, and Crinjaat continues to challenge the treatment of refugees and conversations around displacement with striking, intelligent memes. At its core, the platform is about connecting people across cultures to promote a community spirit in the face of conservative, more sinister politics.

Crinjaat

Crinjaat is an Egyptian meme account with a political, feminist, pro-Palestine lens on the Arab digital world, articulated with both a sense of humour and solidarity

@crinjaat Entertainment

@doitlikedua Music

Dua Saleh

Dua Saleh is a Sudanese-American artist and actor based in Minnesota whose genre-subverting music acts as a call for spiritual power, resilience and collective joy. Having released three ambitious, shapeshifting EPs since 2019, their debut full-length album I SHOULD CALL THEM (2024) traversed R&B and electronic melodies with indie-pop sensibilities and deft lyrics.

At age five, Saleh and their family fled Sudan’s civil war and immigrated to the U.S. as refugees. Settling in the Midwest, Saleh grew up listening to an eclectic mix of 40s soul and jazz, 90s hip-hop, dancehall, afro-beat, and Sudanese singers they caught on cable TV. Their own artistic voice was shaped by their mother's scripture readings, and later, in spoken word nights, academic studies, and community organising.

During their time studying at Augsburg University Saleh led a walkout protesting the school-to-prison pipeline for vulnerable people. Also an actor, their breakout acting role was in Netflix’s Sex Education, playing Cal Bowman. They have collaborated with the likes of Amaarae, Bon Iver, Travis Scott, and more.

Dua Saleh

Dua Saleh is a Sudanese-American artist and actor based in Minnesota whose genre-subverting music acts as a call for spiritual power, resilience and collective joy

@doitlikedua Music

@xanderghost Fashion London

Xander Ghost

Xander Ghost is an Egyptian-British artist and entrepreneur born in Cairo and based in London. He is a self-taught producer, singer-songwriter, creative director, and designer, bridging the worlds of music and fashion. Xander has built a dynamic portfolio that includes the 2018 launch of his innovative eyewear brand A Better Feeling and co-founding the streetwear brand Barraserb. A Better Feeling has been worn by artists including Billie Eilish and Megan Thee Stallion.

Ghost’s work reflects a bold and genre-bending approach, while his music orbits post-futurist sounds, art rock, and hip-hop. He is a recipient of the accessories award from Fashion Trust Arabia in 2023. A Better Feeling has been worn by artists including Billie Eilish and Megan Thee Stallion.

Xander Ghost

@xanderghost Fashion London

@creativespacebeirut Fashion Beirut

Creative Space Beirut

Creative Space Beirut is a non-profit organisation that provides free fashion design education and career support to young people from across Lebanon. Their goal is to bolster a design industry and creative scene in the SWANA region that is inclusive, collaborative, diverse, and socially responsible.

Creative Space Beirut was founded in 2011 by Sarah Hermez, a Lebanese Armenian entrepreneur, and her Parsons New School for Design professor Caroline Simonelli. The project has evolved to provide a full, three-year curriculum that spans pattern making, illustration, textiles, and the business of fashion. The project has a sustainability focus – fabric used by the students has been donated by designers from Donna Karan to local designer Bokja. CSB persevered through the revolution, producing masks and gowns for local hospitals, and rebuilding their students after the 2020 Beirut explosion.

Students and graduates have gone on to become finalists in Fashion Trust Arabia, teach in international design schools, exhibit globally, and launch their own brands, including Roni Helou and Ahmed Amer.

Creative Space Beirut

Creative Space Beirut is a non-profit organisation that provides free fashion design education and career support to young people from across Lebanon

@creativespacebeirut Fashion Beirut

@rams_kay Art and Photography New York

Ramshah Kanwal

Ramshah Kanwal is a Pakistan-born, New York City-raised portrait film photographer known for her vibrant documentary-style imagery. With a considered, intentional approach to her work, her practice is founded in her heritage and upbringing. In 2024, she directed and photographed the AJ1 White & Gold campaign for Jordan, a celebration of sisterhood and the cultural significance of gold. Kanwal sees her use of photography as a way to preserve her past, while envisioning her future.

Ramshah Kanwal

Ramshah Kanwal is a Pakistan-born, New York City-raised portrait film photographer known for her vibrant documentary-style imagery

@rams_kay Art and Photography New York

@taiibbbaaa Art and Photography Kuwait

Taiba Al Nassar

Taiba Al Nassar is a Kuwait-born visual artist and researcher who is currently based between London and Kuwait. Her self-termed ‘post-disciplinary’ practice merges material research, alternative photographic processes, and other artistic methods to explore contested landscapes. Drawing from local knowledge and counter-hegemonic archives, Al Nassar addresses environments altered by colonial history, with a focus on the people and processes within them.

Growing up in Kuwait, Al Nassar’s early work expands the image of ‘home’ and engages with the complexities of the region’s identity. Her 2024 project God’s Eye Sees All, developed during her studies at Central Saint Martins, draws on local methodologies and archives. Through her work, Al Nassar seeks to shift the global narrative about Kuwait, amplifying the depth and richness of its lived realities.

Taiba Al Nassar

Taiba Al Nassar is a Kuwait-born visual artist and researcher who is currently based between London and Kuwait

@taiibbbaaa Art and Photography Kuwait

@yasminahilal_ Art and Photography

Yasmina Hilal

Yasmina Hilal is a Lebanese fashion photographer and collage artist who creates visual narratives through diverse mediums and unconventional materials. Hilal began making collages after her mother gave her a camera as a teenager, and today her work weaves together themes of motherhood, daughterhood, and Lebanese heritage. Her pieces tend to begin from portrait photography, becoming works which encompass ink and stitched thread on film.

Hilal is an advocate of the tactile process of collage making, and eschews the use of digital methods in her work. She has presented her work at exhibitions worldwide: her first solo exhibition, Trial and Error, took place at Zalfa Halabi Art Gallery, Beirut in 2020. Since then she has exhibited in Paris, Qatar, Brussels, and London. Alongside her personal projects, Hilal has worked as a darkroom monitor and freelance photographer for several publications and fashion designers.

Yasmina Hilal

Yasmina Hilal is a Lebanese fashion photographer and collage artist who creates visual narratives through diverse mediums and unconventional materials

@yasminahilal_ Art and Photography

@sahera.mp3 Music London

Sahera

Sahera is a Qatar-born singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles, who playfully refers to herself as the ‘first Qatari pop star’. Her music interpolates raw, poetic storytelling with soundscapes that traverse sparkling pop and traditional Khaleeji music.

On her self-titled debut album, Sahera’s tracks are deeply personal and universally resonant. Her 2024 single “Khaleeji” is a standout moment, an exhilarating ode to her heritage and identity, with a striking music video that sees Sahera skating through palm-lined L.A. streets in black and gold. Her singles “Habibti” and “Mirage” explore R&B sounds and more emotive ballads. Having grown up in Southern California, she hopes to inspire a new generation of Arab diaspora artists to push the boundaries of music.

Sahera

Sahera is a Qatar-born singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles, who playfully refers to herself as the ‘first Qatari pop star’

@sahera.mp3 Music London

@emilesamory Art and Photography

Émile-Samory Fofana

Émile-Samory Fofana is a French-Malian multidisciplinary artist and designer, whose work bridges art, fashion, and cultural commentary. Born near Paris, and now based between Paris and Marseille, he studied design. He first gained prominence in 2018 with Champions League Koulikoro, an emotive photography series documenting the influence of European clubs on African fans from Mali, Guinea, and Senegal.

In 2024, Fofana designed and photographed functional football qamis (traditional garments worn by men in Arab and Muslim countries) for teams like Chelsea and PSG in collaboration with adidas. It’s a project that reshapes how West African and European narratives connect through sport and design. He has modelled for Lanvin, Kenzo, Moncler and other brands. Fofana is also a competitive boxer and an actor, performing in the National Theatre of Strasbourg and the César-nominated short film Baltringue.

Émile-Samory Fofana

Émile-Samory Fofana is a French-Malian multidisciplinary artist and designer, whose work bridges art, fashion and cultural commentary

@emilesamory Art and Photography

@syn.architects Art and Photography Riyadh

Syn Architects

Syn Architects is a Riyadh-based architecture practice founded by the architects Sara Alissa and Nojoud Alsudairi. The practice foregrounds an ecologically sensitive approach to design, which derives its aesthetics from nature and aims to express the true essence of the materials it uses. Together, Alissa and Alsudairi approach their projects with sensitivity, and are particularly interested in creating spaces that feel inclusive and accessible, and which facilitate cross-community exchange.

In addition to Syn, Alissa and Alsudairi have established the Um Slaim collective, which fosters a critical investigation of the displacement of vernacular Najdi architecture in central Riyadh. Alissa and Alsudairi are also the co-founders of saudirchitecture.org, an independent organisation that researches and archives modernist and post-modernist buildings in Saudi Arabia.

Syn Architects

Syn Architects is a Riyadh-based architecture practice founded by the architects Sara Alissa and Nojoud Alsudairi

@syn.architects Art and Photography Riyadh

@seera_music Music

Seera

Seera – meaning ‘life’ or ‘biography’ in Arabic – is a band from Saudi Arabia with a fresh and future-facing take on psychedelic and rock sounds. Nora is the lead vocalist, keyboardist and synth player, Thing is the drummer, Meesh plays bass, and Haya is on the guitar. Seera’s sound is both innovative and rooted in their cultural heritage, pushing the boundaries of the region's music scene.

The band’s music often explores themes of identity, self-acceptance, and their own life experiences. Known for their dynamic live performances, their shows impart a powerful mix of vocals, intricate instrumental arrangements, and energetic beats. As pioneers in Saudi Arabia’s evolving young music scene, Seera is leading a new wave of creative expression and leaving a lasting mark on the regional music industry. Their debut album Al Mojallad Al Awal will drop in December 2024.

Seera

Seera – meaning ‘life’ or ‘biography’ in Arabic – is a band from Saudi Arabia with a fresh and future-facing take on psychedelic and rock sounds

@seera_music Music

@pedrose Art and Photography New York

Pedro Damasceno

Pedro Damasceno is a New York-based multidisciplinary artist and creative director from Brazil. Best known for his creative direction for Saint Levant and Abu Recordings, Damasceno also DJs across New York, Texas, and Mexico City, and works as an editorial photographer for brands, festivals, and magazines including Milk Studios, MISBHV, Tribeca Film Festival, and Dazed.

Exploring Tumblr and YouTube in his teenage years buoyed his passion for championing representation and advocating for authentic storytelling in online and physical spaces, especially for underrepresented communities in SWANA. Damasceno continues to work on projects with Saint Levant, Abu Recordings, and Estúdio Junto, a New York-based collective he co-founded to amplify Brazilian talent through workshops, music events, and creative collaborations.

Pedro Damasceno

Pedro Damasceno is a New York-based multidisciplinary artist and creative director from Brazil

@pedrose Art and Photography New York

The 2024 Dazed 100 MENA list is here

Check out our list of 100 creatives and change-makers are driving youth culture forward in the Middle East and North Africa region, carefully curated by the Dazed MENA team

@shessonia Music

Sonia Al-Sowaiegh

Sonia Al-Sowaiegh, also known as Shessonia, is a Saudi Arabian and Bahraini multimedia artist and podcaster. Al-Sowaiegh began on TikTok in 2020, captivating audiences with her relatable Khaleeji humour and dramatic storytelling. Her videos, often featuring anecdotes from her travels and daily life, as well as whip-smart cultural commentary, have amassed a loyal following.

As a singer, she released her soft and soulful debut EP, Adulting and Adapting, in 2020, which explored the emotions of transitioning into adulthood. She continues to create music while working as a content creator and creative freelancer in the Gulf. Sonia’s Personal Space is a podcast offering an intimate glimpse into her life.

Sonia Al-Sowaiegh

Sonia Al-Sowaiegh, also known as Shessonia, is a Saudi Arabian and Bahraini multimedia artist and podcaster

@shessonia Music

@southasiaarchive Changemaker

South Asia Archive

South Asia Archive (SAA) is a digital archive and research project exploring notions of style, identity, and counterculture throughout South Asia and its diaspora. SAA was founded in 2018 by Bombay-based, Indian-American archivist Sanam Sindhi, serving as a reference source and point of departure for a global index of creatives. Born out of Sindhi’s desire to move beyond stereotypical representations of South Asia, the archive has become a vital repository for obscure and subversive imagery cataloging South Asian beauty, jewellery, makeup, hair, and tattoos.

Over the last decade, Sindhi has been collecting her findings from the internet, museum collections, books, and papers. The archive has grown into a globally recognised initiative that celebrates the depth and complexity of South Asian creativity. Through collaborative projects, visual research, and with plans for a physical space in India, SAA seeks to elevate South Asia’s artistic legacy while making art and fashion more accessible for younger generations.

South Asia Archive

South Asia Archive (SAA) is a digital archive and research project exploring notions of style, identity, and counterculture throughout South Asia and its diaspora

@southasiaarchive Changemaker

@aramsabbah Changemaker Ramallah

Aram Sabbah

Aram Sabbah is a Ramallah-based Palestinian skater, actor, and the manager of SkatePal, a UK-based organisation dedicated to supporting communities in Palestine through skateboarding. Growing up under the constraints of military occupation, Sabbah discovered skating at the age of 14, and quickly realised it was an outlet for expression that could give him a feeling of freedom in his immediate environment. Inspired by programmes like The Simpsons and Jimmy Neutron, he started out sharing a skateboard with a neighbourhood friend.

One of the earliest skateboarders in Ramallah, Sabbah’s passion would help shape the emerging skate scene in Palestine. As well as introducing the sport to a generation of Palestinians, Sabbah has collaborated with brands like CHPO Brand to design products, with proceeds supporting The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East’s (UNRWA) work in Palestine. Committed to telling Palestinian stories on a global stage, his activism was featured in the 2015 mini-documentary Kickflips Over Occupation, and in 2024 Sabbah made his acting debut in Mahdi Fleifel’s Cannes-premiered thriller, To A Land Unknown.

Aram Sabbah

Aram Sabbah is a Ramallah-based Palestinian skater, actor, and the manager of SkatePal, a UK-based organisation dedicated to supporting communities in Palestine through skateboarding

@aramsabbah Changemaker Ramallah

@nasa4nasa Art and Photography Cairo

nasa4nasa

nasa4nasa is a Cairo-based dance collective, co-founded by Salma Abdel Salam and Noura Seif Hassanein in 2016. They have trained in Cairo, Vienna, and New York.

Their playful and thought-provoking work, primarily found on Instagram, explores the intersection of image-making, online presence, and dance, questioning notions of form, aesthetics, and value. nasa4nasa made their debut performance with SUASH at Next Festival and Stockholm’s MDT Moderna Dansteatern in 2018. They have since presented works at various international venues, including in Zurich and Marseille.

In 2022, they premiered NO MERCY at Rawabet Art Space in Cairo, later taking it international. In 2024, they debuted their first group piece, Sham3dan, exhibiting the evolution of the Shamadan dance in 19th and 20th century Egypt, and reflecting on its socio-political significance. nasa4nasa has been the recipient of the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (2020), Mophradat's Consortium Fund (2018), and the GPS Global Practice Sharing Residency (2022).

nasa4nasa

nasa4nasa is a Cairo-based dance collective, co-founded by Salma Abdel Salam and Noura Seif Hassanein in 2016

@nasa4nasa Art and Photography Cairo

@mouriiiiiiiiii Art and Photography

Mouri

Mouri, also known as Ahmad Zaghmouri and Shabmouri, is a multidisciplinary artist who pushes the creative boundaries of directing, acting, visual art, and writing. He is the co-founder and former creative director of Ramallah-based BLTNM Records, a border-breaking independent Palestinian record label. He starred in the 2022 Palestinian film Alam directed by Firas Khoury, alongside BLTNM rapper Daboor.

Mouri collaborated with Ibrahem Hasan on the project Yesterday, Come Closer (YCC), a 728-page ‘non-linear experiment’ using text, the aural and visual to explore Palestinian collective memory, home, and belonging. It is accompanied by a sound system in collaboration with Radio Alhara, blending photography, design, writing, and contributions from other artists. Mouri also curated a booth of revolutionary Arab publications at Sharjah Art Foundation’s Focal Point 2024.

Mouri

Mouri, also known as Ahmad Zaghmouri and Shabmouri, is a multidisciplinary artist who pushes the creative boundaries of directing, acting, visual art, and writing

@mouriiiiiiiiii Art and Photography

@mabroukmabruk Fashion London

Mabruk

Mabruk is a British-Libyan designer, stylist, DJ and creative based in London. He is the founder of Medina, a brand that unites streetwear and luxury fashion with distinctive, brightly coloured and textured staples. Medina reflects Mabruk’s North African heritage and his interest in its iconography and cultural identity.

Mabruk’s fashion education comes from growing up in skate culture, which has inspired his more daring, innovative style concepts and self-expression through clothing. The brand’s name, Medina – the Arabic word for city – reflects the connective power of urban culture.

With over six years of experience in the global creative industry, Mabruk’s work spans fashion, music, and visual arts. Through Medina, he continues to craft designs that honour his heritage while resonating with a contemporary, international audience. Proving that the brand goes from strength to strength, in October 2024 Medina dropped a two-year anniversary capsule collection too.

Mabruk

Mabruk is a British-Libyan designer, stylist, DJ and creative based in London

@mabroukmabruk Fashion London

@msqalli Music Amman

Mothanna Hussein

Mothanna Hussein is a Palestinian-Jordanian visual designer and music curator based in Amman, Jordan. Alongside Saeed Abu-Jaber he is the co-founder of Turbo; a multidisciplinary studio that doubles as a workspace and exhibition venue. He is also the co-founder of Warsheh, a design collective, with Hadi Alaeddin.

Hussein is a key figure in Radio Alhara, an online Palestinian radio station and pillar of sonic resistance broadcast from Bethlehem, which launched in March 2020 with Yousef and Elias Anastas, Yazan Khalili, and Saeed Abu-Jaber. Hussein’s own project Allah1.net explores the visual forms of the word ‘Allah’, experimenting with new expressions of Islamic art and traditional calligraphy with graphic design. His Free Palestine Project is an archive of posters from global designers amplifying messages of solidarity and resistance. Hussein also creates objects and jewellery.

Mothanna Hussein

Mothanna Hussein is a Palestinian-Jordanian visual designer and music curator based in Amman, Jordan

@msqalli Music Amman

@sandlifers Changemaker Riyadh

Sandlifers

Sandlifers is a collective of eight skater-creatives based in Saudi Arabia, at the forefront of their region’s skateboarding community. The collective began in May 2020 by posting skateboarding content on Instagram. Their mission is to promote skateboarding culture through video, photography, and community initiatives focused on street art, skateboarding, street lifestyle, and fashion.

Skateboarding brings them across Riyadh’s urban landscape, often skating in areas such as local markets and mall parking lots, capturing the city’s often overlooked subcultures. They offer workshops and training to inspire local youth, and continue to push for the creation of large-scale skateparks accessible to the public. In 2024, they won medals at the Saudi Games, the country’s largest national sporting event.

Sandlifers

Sandlifers is a collective of eight skater-creatives based in Saudi Arabia, at the forefront of their region’s skateboarding community

@sandlifers Changemaker Riyadh

@dmalikyar Art and Photography Los Angeles

Daniel Malikyar

Daniel Malikyar is Los Angeles-based multi-disciplinary artist, creative director, photographer, and filmmaker. Malikyar’s work is rooted in his Afghan American identity; he articulates the stories of underrepresented communities with his emotive visual storytelling. In 2015, he garnered attention as the youngest official FUJIFILM X-Photographer. He went on to become creative director for EDM producer Marshmello.

In 2017, he co-founded agency and production company MGX CREATIVE, and in 2020 he launched Santo, a fine art gallery representing global talent in over 25 countries. His own work has been featured in publisher Taschen's Ice Cold: A Hip-Hop Jewelry History book. With worldwide exhibitions and more forthcoming, Malikyar will debut a fine art project in Afghanistan that encompasses a book, exhibition and docuseries in 2025.

Daniel Malikyar

Daniel Malikyar is Los Angeles-based multi-disciplinary artist, creative director, photographer, and filmmaker

@dmalikyar Art and Photography Los Angeles

@imane_khelif_10 Sport

Imane Khelif

Imane Khelif shot to fame at the Paris 2024 Olympics this summer. The women’s boxer was born in Tiaret, Algeria and grew up playing football. Ducking punches from the boys on the pitch, she started boxing aged 16, selling scrap metal to raise money for her bus fare to the nearest gym. She first competed professionally at the women's World Championships in 2018, exiting in the first round.

Khelif's perseverance through great adversity has been overshadowed by the transphobic controversy that surrounded her Olympic success, when various high-profile X users, including Elon Musk, were claiming that she must be a trans-woman. The centre of a media storm despite being a cis-woman, she still rose to the occasion, defeating Italian boxer Angela Carini in the semi final in just 46 seconds before beating China's Yang Liu to the Gold medal in the final. Khelif’s victory was as much an example of her focus, dedication, and strength of character as it was a phenomenal sporting achievement.

Imane Khelif

Imane Khelif shot to fame at the Paris 2024 Olympics this summer

@imane_khelif_10 Sport

@ethiopian_girl_skaters Sport Addis Abeba

Ethiopian Girl Skaters

Ethiopian Girl Skaters is a grassroots group working to empower youth and promote skateboarding as a sport and community in Ethiopia. Based in Addis Ababa, the collective was founded by Sosina (Soisy) Challa, and has grown into a group of over 60 members. The group meets every Saturday, encouraging young girls and women to take part in the largely male-dominated sport.

Challa was spurred on by her own experiences as one of few women involved in Ethiopia Skate, a nonprofit organisation that helped build the nation’s first official skate park. Ethiopian Girl Skaters has been instrumental in developing Ethiopia’s skate scene in terms of physical infrastructure too; driving the build of three new skate parks. Founded against the backdrop of civil war, the group has remained a steadfast, passionate public platform for female empowerment, fostering both a sense of community and the confidence to challenge traditional gender roles in sports.

Ethiopian Girl Skaters

Ethiopian Girl Skaters is a grassroots group working to empower youth and promote skateboarding as a sport and community in Ethiopia

@ethiopian_girl_skaters Sport Addis Abeba

@___solem Art and Photography Toronto

Tamara Al-Issa

Tamara Al-Issa is a Syrian-Filipina sculptural artist and ceramicist who grew up in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and is currently based in Toronto, Canada. She is the founder of Solem Ceramics, where her work explores the preservation of time through sculpture, drawing from her memories of architecture and traditional pottery in SWANA and Southeast Asia.

Al-Issa’s creative journey began while in university, where she started pottery as a hobby to relieve the pressures of her science degree. She opened her own pottery studio in 2020 and has gone on to work with brands including Mejuri, Nike, and Size. Her series Deep Blue features hand-built traditional shapes in a custom cobalt blue, a colour that evokes nostalgia and wistfulness – in SWANA, blue (especially turquoise) is believed to have mystical and protective properties.

Tamara Al-Issa

Tamara Al-Issa is a Syrian-Filipina sculptural artist and ceramicist who grew up in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and is currently based in Toronto, Canada

@___solem Art and Photography Toronto

@alne3aimy Sport

Akram Alnuaimy

Akram Alnuaimy is a Iraqi BMX athlete based in Dubai, who is redefining the perception of extreme sports in Southwest Asia and North Africa. Famous for his jaw-dropping stunts on Instagram—like jumping flights of stairs or riding across architectural landmarks—Akram’s fearlessness has become a source of inspiration for young athletes in the region.

For Akram, BMX was a transformative outlet allowing him to connect with a broader community; now, he uses his platform to promote the normalisation of extreme sports in the Arab world.

Akram’s journey has taken him across the globe, from Armenia to Uzbekistan, but his proudest moments remain tied to the region, including riding down Abu Dhabi’s iconic Sheikh Zayed Bridge, designed by Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid. His love for architecture has inspired his latest venture: building Baghdad’s first concrete skate park in collaboration with a non-profit, providing young locals with a space to explore BMX and skateboarding.

Akram Alnuaimy

Akram Alnuaimy is a Iraqi BMX athlete based in Dubai, who is redefining the perception of extreme sports in Southwest Asia and North Africa

@alne3aimy Sport

@altqadum Art and Photography

Altqadum

Founded in Muscat, Oman and now expanded to the United Arab Emirates with an office recently opened in Dubai, Altqadum is not just a design studio, it’s a cultural beacon transforming the local architectural landscape. With an output that spans interiors and furniture design through to major build projects like the Bab Al Salam Mosque in Muscat, Altqadum brings an unwavering commitment to weaving heritage through work that feels strikingly contemporary.

Altqadum is helmed by Director of Design Marwan AlBalushi, whose creative vision drives every project, Director of Research and Cultural Initiatives Abdulrahim Al Kendi, who ensures that every design resonates with its cultural context, and Architectural Designer Najd AlBalushi, whose innovative approach brings fresh perspectives to the team. This past September saw the team win Urban Commissions 2024, with their ‘TukTukDum’ table, which was unveiled as part of Dubai Design Week.

Altqadum

@altqadum Art and Photography

@msqalli Art and Photography

Mohamed Sqalli

Mohamed Sqalli is a director and creative director whose work explores culture, history, poetry, mythology, and craftsmanship, taking traditional vernaculars and making them universal. This approach is mostly inspired by the avant-garde creative movements in post-independent countries in Africa. He has worked with Nike Jordan and Paco Rabanne.

He is the co-creator of NAAR, a 'post-cultural' collective founded in 2017 who aim to support and produce the projects of artists who struggle to make their voices heard in Western countries. The collective's debut album, SAFAR, featured some of Morocco's biggest trap talents. As Dazed wrote in 2019, NAAR and Sqalli are propelling a new generation of Moroccan youth forward, reclaiming the Arab aesthetic from the endless stream of reductive references that dominate mainstream Western media.

Mohamed Sqalli

Mohamed Sqalli is a director and creative director whose work explores culture, history, poetry, mythology, and craftsmanship, taking traditional vernaculars and making them universal

@msqalli Art and Photography

@lailaabdallah Entertainment Kuwait

Laila Abdallah El-Fayed

Laila Abdallah El-Fayed is a Lebanese actor, born, raised and still based in Kuwait. She first began acting in music videos before landing her breakout role aged 14 in the acclaimed 2010 drama Saher Al-Lail, directed by Muhammad Daham Al-Shammari. Abdallah El-Fayed continued to collaborate with the Saudi director in the series Tu Nahar, establishing her presence in Gulf television.

In 2023, Abdallah El-Fayed starred in London Class, a period drama about Arab students navigating life in 1980s London. She has been open and reflective about her upbringing with parents who are both deaf and mute. Fluent in sign language, she says her parents helped sparked her passion for television and film, as she often spent hours translating shows for them. Abdallah El-Fayed shares her vibrant personal style with five million followers on Instagram, and establishes herself in a legacy of empowered Arab women.

Laila Abdallah El-Fayed

Laila Abdallah El-Fayed is a Lebanese actor, born, raised and still based in Kuwait

@lailaabdallah Entertainment Kuwait

@ouchmyermharts Fashion London

Wathek Allal

Wathek Allal is an Amazigh designer, creative director, and founder of the label Precious Trust, which he established in 2018. Allal was born in Damascus, Syria, to Algerian parents, who were forced to leave Syria during the war. He relocated to Dubai with his family, and grew up rooted in his North African heritage as well as his love for skateboarding – it was in the skateparks that he learned English.

As a self-taught creative, he has a multidisciplinary approach – designing clothing, directing films, styling, and producing pop-up store concepts. Allal has showcased Precious Trust globally, including pop-ups in London and South Africa. He hopes to establish initiatives like a skatepark in his hometown and a film festival in Algeria. Through the end of 2024 he hosted a Precious Trust pop-up and has a series of activations planned for 2025. He appeared on the inaugural cover of Dazed MENA in November 2024.

Wathek Allal

Wathek Allal is an Amazigh designer, creative director, and founder of the label Precious Trust, which he established in 2018

@ouchmyermharts Fashion London

@phoolsunga Art and Photography London

Noorain Inam

Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Noorain Inam is an artist who lives and works in London. She studied painting at the Slade School of Fine Art and received her MFA in 2022. Her painting practice explores the construction of identity and belonging through a layering of cultural references and contexts. Trained in miniature painting, Inam combines this skill with Western gestural painting styles to craft complex, emotional worlds.

Her second solo exhibition, Go back to sleep, it’s just the wind, which opened at Indigo+Madder in London in June 2024, presented a series of works created during a six-month residency at Porthmeor Studios in Cornwall. The exhibition reflects on darkness, fear, grief, and the mystery of bodies of water, drawing from feminist horror aesthetics in film and literature. Inam’s intimate depictions of domestic and exterior spaces – such as bedrooms, living rooms, and the sea – evoke existential questions about love, death, and madness.

Noorain Inam

Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Noorain Inam is an artist who lives and works in London. She studied painting at the Slade School of Fine Art and received her MFA in 2022

@phoolsunga Art and Photography London

@sikotatour Art and Photography Amsterdam

Mohammed Tatour

Mohammed ‘Siko’ Tatour is a Palestinian multidisciplinary artist, researcher, and designer based in Amsterdam. He works across photography, painting, graphic design, installation, and video art. From living his life under occupation in Jerusalem, his work portrays socio-cultural expressions, intertwining past struggles with current experiences.

As a co-founder of MOONI Studio, a visual communication practice specialising in cultural projects, and a member of BLTNM Records, Tatour brings a collaborative ethos to his work. His projects often delve into local histories, using storytelling as a tool to highlight the intersections of past and present experiences. Tatour’s work was featured in Remarkable Meetings with Disgusting Men, which showed at W139 gallery in Amsterdam through October 2024. Tatour’s practice merges personal and communal narratives to reflect the resilience and ongoing struggles of Palestinian life.

Mohammed Tatour

Mohammed ‘Siko’ Tatour is a Palestinian multidisciplinary artist, researcher, and designer based in Amsterdam

@sikotatour Art and Photography Amsterdam

@nooriyah._ Music London

Nooriyah

Nooriyah is a DJ, audio producer, and curator of Saudi Arabian heritage who was raised in Japan and is now based in the UK. Her signature sound is a genre-bending experience, which combines Arabic music with diverse styles like Japanese hip-hop, Maghrebi trap, reggaeton, and South African house.

She is the founder of London-based SWANA-focused project and party series Middle of Nowhere, which curated the first SWANA line-up for the music platform Boiler Room. Nooriyah’s own debut Boiler Room set, in 2022, has achieved over five million streams since.

Nooriyah has gained international acclaim and performed at venues and festivals worldwide including Glastonbury. She sold out her headline show at London’s legendary KOKO and has taken the Middle of Everywhere tour across Europe, North America, and Australia. Nooriyah has also produced work for BBC Four, using her deep musical knowledge to produce audio-visual projects and work with soundtracks for film and TV.

Nooriyah

Nooriyah is a DJ, audio producer, and curator of Saudi Arabian heritage who was raised in Japan and is now based in the UK

@nooriyah._ Music London

@adwaxox Entertainment Los Angeles

Adwaء Bader

Adwaء Bader is an actor, poet, and screenwriter of Saudi Arabian descent who was born in Florida and now lives in Los Angeles. She has made breakthroughs in SWANA’s entertainment industry, landing her first lead role in Naga (2023), directed by the Saudi Arabian filmmaker Meshal Aljaser.

Naga was selected for the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) Midnight Madness program, with Bader’s performance earning her a spot in the TIFF 23 Rising Stars program, along with the Share Her Journey Fellowship.

Prior to making her acting debut in Aljaser’s 2017 short Can I Go Out?, Bader had been working as a commercial actor and model since 2008, with high-profile campaigns for global brands like Harvey Nichols, FarFetch, and Burberry. She also published a volume of poetry in 2020.

Adwaء Bader

Adwaء Bader is an actor, poet, and screenwriter of Saudi Arabian descent who was born in Florida and now lives in Los Angeles

@adwaxox Entertainment Los Angeles

@djgawad Music

DJ GAWAD

DJ GAWAD is an anonymous Jordanian-Palestinian artist known for his satirical yet meticulous approach to hip-hop. His provocative debut album, DJ GAWAD Presents: Volume 1, drips with acerbic satire aimed at the contemporary music scene, Memphis-inspired gangster rap made gargantuan and inflected with forward-facing, warped and twisted Levantine sounds.

The record, put out via Amman-based record label Drowned by Locals, also showcases some of Jordan and Palestine’s most notable underground talent: Ramallah producer-rapper Julmud and razor-sharp Jordanian rapper Rknddn included. Old-school sounds intertwine with contemporary hip-hop aesthetics, and DJ GAWARD’s own blend of humour and swagger interrogates what the sound of regional hip-hop is.

DJ GAWAD

DJ GAWAD is an anonymous Jordanian-Palestinian artist known for his satirical yet meticulous approach to hip-hop

@djgawad Music

@karimeazy Sport Beirut

Karim Ezzeddine

Karim Ezzeddine is a Lebanese-French basketball player who currently plays power forward and centre for Beirut-based basketball team Sagesse SC. He has played for France, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and the USA.

Ezzeddine’s family relocated to France’s La Fauconnière during the Second Congo War, and in 2019, he graduated from the University of New Mexico. At 21, he was offered the opportunity to play basketball for Lebanon – though the 2019 revolution cut short this first contract, while COVID disrupted his second contract in Saudi Arabia. After a brief stint in Paris and Bahrain, Karim returned to Lebanon.

2024 has been a pivotal year for the established professional athlete – as he candidly shared, he returned to Paris jobless after his team folded. But he has returned to a stellar year of wins and points scored on the court. Ezzeddine is known for his impressive, speedy sequences, as well as his infectious energy. He has been open about the racism and language barriers at play in the sport, the corruption his generation and people before him have endured in both the Congo and in Lebanon, and his hope to empower the next generation of Lebanon’s sports players.

Karim Ezzeddine

Karim Ezzeddine is a Lebanese-French basketball player who currently plays power forward and centre for Beirut-based basketball team Sagesse SC

@karimeazy Sport Beirut

@avantgarde__x Music

Avantgarde X

Avantgarde X is a platform founded by Saoud Alsharief and Renad Omar in December 2021, with the goal of connecting to underground music cultures across the world and bringing these unique experiences to Saudi Arabia and the wider SWANA region. They run parties that have hosted global DJs, musicians, and collectives, both in Saudi Arabia and across the world.

The pair have shared a deep passion for music since childhood, and both Alsharief and Omar aim to educate their community and expand the local music scene. Avantgarde X’s events focus on collaboration with international agencies, record labels, and local talents, fostering cross-cultural exchange and growth. They have partnered on events with collectives like Yoyaku in Bahrain, Roof Booking in Jeddah, and MoodWaves in Berlin. Avantgarde X was also involved in XP Music Future 2024, showcasing emerging talents and creating new opportunities for the local underground scene.

Avantgarde X

@avantgarde__x Music

@fana.collective Art and Photography Ramallah

FANA’ Collective

FANA’ Collective is an experimental, multi-disciplinary group based in Ramallah, Palestine which was founded in 2019 by Yasmine Huleileh and Ahmed Al-Aqra. The name Fana’ draws from Arabic, signifying both the annihilation and rebirth of the self in Sufism. The collective works to deconstruct established truths and dismantle the processes through which social, philosophical, and cultural knowledge is produced, consumed and legitimised.

The collective has produced publications, exhibitions, and events, often staged in unconventional and underutilized spaces around Ramallah. During the group’s residency at The International Centre of Graphic Arts (MGLC) in Ljubljana, FANA developed Red Codex, and they have also produced The Black Journal, a compendium of written and visual works.

FANA’ collective has brought the exhibition I will write our will above the clouds, a show that presents the work of 14 Gazan artists, to cities including Paris, Berlin and Barcelona. Works include copies of original artworks that are either unreachable or were lost or destroyed by the Israeli Occupation Forces, along with artworks initially produced using digital media. Most of the artists in this exhibition remain in Gaza.

FANA’ Collective

FANA’ Collective is an experimental, multi-disciplinary group based in Ramallah, Palestine which was founded in 2019 by Yasmine Huleileh and Ahmed Al-Aqra

@fana.collective Art and Photography Ramallah

@basmah_felemban Art and Photography

Basmah Felemban

Basmah Felemban is a Saudi Arabian multimedia artist whose work encompasses graphic design, sculptural paper installations, video games and more. Born in Jeddah, a Saudi Arabian port city, she started out as a self-taught graphic designer, before earning an MA in Islamic and Traditional Art from London’s Prince’s School of Traditional Arts in 2017.

Her work draws on her interest in symbolism and Islamic metaphysics and has been exhibited internationally in both group and solo shows, including at Julia Stoschek Foundation Berlin, the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University, Noor Riyadh Festival, the Venice Biennale, and Art Abu Dhabi. Inspired early on by writing, reading and research remain integral to her practice, and are the connecting line that can be drawn through her work.

Basmah Felemban

Basmah Felemban is a Saudi Arabian multimedia artist whose work encompasses graphic design, sculptural paper installations, video games and more

@basmah_felemban Art and Photography

@aswatomar Art and Photography

Omar Almahri

Omar Almahri is a filmmaker, multidisciplinary artist, and model from the United Arab Emirates and based in Abu Dhabi, whose artistic journey began in childhood when his sister brought home a camera. He went on to explore filmmaking, photography, and fashion design. He has collaborated with brands such as Gucci, Les Benjamins, Emergency Room Beirut, and GQ Middle East. In 2023, he directed a campaign for Pharrell Williams and his brand Human Race.

Almahri aims to amplify authentic Emirati narratives and reshape how people from the UAE are perceived in the arts, inspiring the next generation to pursue creative careers. His short film for Sudan-based brand Sn3 explores the many dimensions of love – capturing familial, romantic, and intergenerational bonds.

Omar Almahri

Omar Almahri is a filmmaker, multidisciplinary artist, and model from the United Arab Emirates and based in Abu Dhabi, whose artistic journey began in childhood when his sister brought home a camera

@aswatomar Art and Photography

@myriamboulos Art and Photography Zürich

Nada Atieg

Nada Atieg is a Sudanese journalist, cultural worker, and organiser based in Zurich. Her writing, radio and performance work explores the intersections of politics, art, and religion. Atieg is particularly interested in indigenous and pre-Islamic spiritualities and their role in resistance and collective emancipation.

She examines the Zar tradition, a spirit possession ceremony suppressed under colonial rule and state-imposed Islamisation, which remains woven into Sudanese culture today. Her research on Zar led to her collaboration with 21 Sudanese creatives worldwide on The House of Lolia Tarot, a project that reimagines tarot cards through Sudanese Zar symbolism. Her upcoming projects include exploring work with clay and music and producing a podcast series on prison abolition. Through her practice, Atieg aims to reclaim and revitalize suppressed cultural traditions as forms of resistance and social transformation.

Nada Atieg

Nada Atieg is a Sudanese journalist, cultural worker, and organiser based in Zurich

@myriamboulos Art and Photography Zürich

@lamineyamal Sport Barcelona

Lamine Yamal

Lamine Yamal is a footballer for La Liga club Barcelona and Spain’s national team. He was born in the municipality of Esplugues de Llobregat, near Barcelona, and raised in Rocafonda, a neighbourhood of Mataró in Catalonia. Yamal arrived at Barcelona Football Club at just seven years old, rising through the age categories to play for the first team at age 15, making him the youngest player to ever represent Barça, and since, their youngest ever goal scorer.

Yamal continues to break and set records, becoming the youngest player ever to reach 50 appearances for the first time across a campaign with his team over 2023 and 2024. In the summer of 2024 he also became the youngest player ever to appear in the European Championships when he started for Spain against Croatia at 16, and the youngest player ever to appear in a major tournament final when Barça went up against England in the final.

In October 2024, Lamine took home the Kopa Trophy for best U23 player at the Ballon d'Or gala, Paris. He has cultivated a strong, long-range strike, dexterous dribbling style and powerful pace that has cemented him as a generational talent. With his signature ‘304’ celebration, in which Yamal expresses his Rocafonda postcode with his hand, the player pays homage to a marginalised, misunderstood area as he rises to global fame.

Lamine Yamal

Lamine Yamal is a footballer for La Liga club Barcelona and Spain’s national team

@lamineyamal Sport Barcelona

@robinpolatt Music Istanbul

Robin Polat

Robin Polat is a Turkish musician based in Istanbul, who has cultivated a following for their high-energy punk performances and socially conscious lyrics. They created the musical project Holistic Tsunami in 2020 and have gone on to focus on a solo career.

Polat channels themes of personal resilience and social justice into their music, uniting raw energy with a sense of introspection. Their style is rebellious, while remaining deeply rooted in Turkish cultural influences, with elements of the punk movement and poetry.

In 2024, Polat collaborated with Istanbul-based luxury streetwear brand Les Benjamins on the Eastern Punk capsule collection. This project merges Robin’s bold punk aesthetic with Les Benjamins’ signature streetwear style, with distressed fabrics and piercing-inspired accessories.

Robin Polat

Robin Polat is a Turkish musician based in Istanbul, who has cultivated a following for their high-energy punk performances and socially conscious lyrics

@robinpolatt Music Istanbul

@uglyinahotway Changemaker London

Aisha Mirza

Aisha Mirza is a Pakistani-Egyptian writer, DJ, artist and community organiser who is now based in London. A trained counsellor, they are also the founder of misery; a mental health organisation, outdoor education programme, grief space and sober club night for queer communities. Mirza has also written extensively on diverse subjects spanning mental health, pop culture, prison abolition, life on water (Mirza lives in a houseboat currently) and body hair.

After an early essay “White Women Drive Me Crazy” went viral, they served as gal-dem zine’s advice columnist from 2020 until 2023. As a DJ, Mirza has performed internationally, playing sets that provide a genre-transcendent adventure through South Asian melodies, North African, Brazilian and Afrobeat booty-shaking rhythms, breakbeat, deep techno, Kate Bush edits, (and live readings from their diary if you're very lucky).

Aisha Mirza

Aisha Mirza is a Pakistani-Egyptian writer, DJ, artist and community organiser who is now based in London

@uglyinahotway Changemaker London

@afghanpunkzine Changemaker

What's Afghan Punk Rock, Anyway?

What's Afghan Punk Rock, Anyway? is an independently operated art and literary magazine. It was founded in 2018 by Armeghan Taheri, an Afghan-German writer, editor, artist, and culture worker who is based in Berlin. Born out of the need to resist two-dimensional portrayals of Afghans – in which the complexity and nuance of a person is often reduced to a binary ‘hero’ or ‘victim’ outline —the magazine serves as an emancipatory platform where stories can be shared freely and authentically.

A multilingual publication, What's Afghan Punk Rock, Anyway? connects the political landscape of Afghanistan with other global liberation movements, breaking down structural barriers between language, art, and politics. Through the essays and art featured on its pages, and community projects too, What’s Afghan Punk Rock, Anyway? disrupts the status quo, resisting classist notions of art and the cultural erasure of marginalised communities.

In the tradition of femme punk rebellion, the magazine celebrates imagination as a revolutionary act. It amplifies narratives of resilience, ensuring that the stories on its pages are told by the people who live them for their own community, not pandering to the expectations and preconceptions of an external gaze.

What's Afghan Punk Rock, Anyway?

What's Afghan Punk Rock, Anyway? is an independently operated art and literary magazine

@afghanpunkzine Changemaker

@_asmailz Fashion London

Zahra Asmail

Zahra Asmail is an Iraqi costume designer and stylist based in London. She draws inspiration from her rich heritage and upbringing, capturing the spirit of contemporary culture while honouring her roots. Nostalgia plays a significant role in her practice; Asmail gleans from her memories of her grandfather's fitted suits and shemagh and her own father's enduring style, bolstering an aesthetic that juxtaposes masculine and feminine expressions, history, and modernity.

Asmail’s work has featured in Polyester, Numero, and Hunger, and in music videos for artists including Wesley Joseph, FLOHIO, Giggs, and Jorja Smith. Campaign work includes Dr Martens and adidas, and commercials for Nike and Off-WHITE.

Zahra Asmail

Zahra Asmail is an Iraqi costume designer and stylist based in London

@_asmailz Fashion London

@omarsha3 Art and Photography London

Omar Sha3

Omar Sha3 is a Palestinian visual artist based between Dubai and Amman, Jordan, whose work spans photography, painting, and design. He has worked across the worlds of fashion and art, with brands such as Gucci, Burberry, Dior, and Carolina Herrera. He is deeply inspired by the mystical landscapes of the Levant, particularly in his home village of Naour. His visuals often reflect the surreal beauty of these spaces.

His recent exhibition, Smr, showcased intimate reflections on family, memory, and connection through large graphite drawings and pottery pieces soaked in Dead Sea salt water. Known for his evocative fashion photography and conceptual art, he seeks to create a visual language that transcends cultural boundaries.

Omar Sha3

Omar Sha3 is a Palestinian visual artist based between Dubai and Amman, Jordan, whose work spans photography, painting, and design

@omarsha3 Art and Photography London

@nazarit_machin Fashion London

Nazarit Machín

Nazarit Machín is a Colombian model based in London, who is known for her impactful presence on global runways and in fashion campaigns. Born in Santander de Quilichao, Cauca, she holds the distinction of being the first Colombian model to debut for Louis Vuitton.

Machín’s journey into modeling began when she was scouted at a shopping mall, leading her to sign with IMG Models. Having also walked for prestigious brands like Dior, Off-White, and Etro, Nazarit embraces modelling as a platform to learn about the world, engage with diverse cultures, and push her boundaries. Proud of her Afro-Colombian roots and Indigenous heritage, she strives to inspire young women to pursue their passions fearlessly.

Nazarit Machín

Nazarit Machín is a Colombian model based in London, known for her impactful presence on global runways and in fashion campaigns

@nazarit_machin Fashion London

@Nemahsis Music Toronto

Nemahsis

Nemahsis is a Palestinian-Canadian singer and songwriter who captivates audiences with her poignant vocals and vulnerable lyricism. Born Nemah Hasan, she grew up in Milton, a suburb in Toronto, Ontario, where her secluded surroundings fostered a creative, resourceful mindset. In 2020, Nemahsis gained traction on TikTok, sharing makeup and fashion content that highlighted her identity as a hijabi woman, alongside a cappella covers of artists like Lana Del Rey and Adele. In 2021, Nemahsis released her debut single “what if i took it off for you?”, inspired by a negative experience with a global beauty brand, followed by her EP eleven archers in 2022.

After signing with a record label in October 2023, she was unexpectedly dropped five days later. Undeterred, Nemahsis self-released her debut LP Verbathim in 2024, blending folk, indie, and baroque pop, to confront themes of generational trauma, societal bias, and rejection. It received critical acclaim, and was praised by artists including Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Imogen Heap. Nemahsis will celebrate the album’s release with a sold-out headline tour starting January 2025.

Nemahsis

Nemahsis is a Palestinian-Canadian singer and songwriter who captivates audiences with her poignant vocals and vulnerable lyricism

@Nemahsis Music Toronto

@shepherd.studio Art and Photography

Shepherd Studio

Shepherd Studio is an award-winning experimental architecture and design practice based in Bahrain. Established in 2017 by Rashed AlAraifi, Ahmed AlMannai, and Abdulla Binhindi, the studio operates at the intersection of architectural, scenographic, industrial, and product design.

With a commitment to innovative, cross-disciplinary projects, Shepherd Studio has garnered international recognition for its boundary-pushing work. Their Tila Chair, designed for Bahrain’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, received the Wallpaper* Design of the Year award in 2022. Inspired by the traditional Arab game of marbles, the Tila chair features 210 stainless steel spheres within a tubular frame, reflecting its surroundings and creating dynamic interplays of light and shadow. Shepherd Studio exhibited most recently at Dutch Design Week.

Shepherd Studio

Shepherd Studio is an award-winning experimental architecture and design practice based in Bahrain

@shepherd.studio Art and Photography

@eddluu Fashion Paris

Edmond Luu

Edmond Luu, the founder and creative director of Paris-based menswear label Pièces Uniques, who was raised in Paris suburb Villepinte by his Cambodian father and Vietnamese mother. Luu initially focused his creativity on visual arts and music, spending eight years at the Conservatory mastering opera arias, guitar, and piano. He studied advertising, and after graduating worked briefly at creative agency Publicis 133 before going on to become artistic director for Dior Parfums.

All the while though, Luu was crafting his own label, Pièces Uniques. In 2022, he decided to fully dedicate himself to the brand, which has quickly become known for its clean, structured silhouettes and monochrome colour palettes. Luu has collaborated with artists including Ty Dolla Sign and Final Fantasy with the label. He has also directed films, starting with a Japan-shot short film for Pièces Uniques, Première Fois. In 2023 Luu won the prestigious Pierre Bergé Prize at the ANDAM Fashion Awards.

Edmond Luu

Edmond Luu, the founder and creative director of Paris-based menswear label Pièces Uniques, was raised in Paris suburb Villepinte by his Cambodian father and Vietnamese mother

@eddluu Fashion Paris

@meriembennani Art and Photography New York

Meriem Bennani

Meriem Bennani is an artist based in New York, who spent her childhood between Rabat, Morocco and Paris. Her work traverses video, sculpture, multimedia installation and drawing, blending globalised popular culture with the vernacular of Moroccan heritage. Known for her playful embrace of the absurd, Bennani’s projects explore fractured identities in contemporary society, particularly through the lens of gender, cultural hybridity, and digital technologies. She received her BFA from The Cooper Union and her MFA in Animation from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

Bennani often draws inspiration from her own experiences and relationships, especially the dynamics among women in Morocco. Bennani’s recent projects include For My Best Family, a fantastical video narrative presented at Fondazione Prada, which borrows styles from YouTube, reality TV, and mobile phone footage, woven together with an air of magical realism. Her art film For Aicha, co-directed with Orian Barki, follows a Moroccan filmmaker grappling with sexuality and her relationship with her mother in Casablanca.

Meriem Bennani

Meriem Bennani is an artist based in New York, who spent her childhood between Rabat, Morocco and Paris

@meriembennani Art and Photography New York

@davracollective Art and Photography

DAVRA

DAVRA is a research group working across visual arts, activism and gender to develop the Central Asian artistic scene. ‘Davra’ derives from the Persian word for ‘circle’, reflecting the group’s mission to forge connections and collective gathering. The group was founded in 2021 by Uzbek artist and filmmaker Saodat Ismailova, an extension of her ‘Chilltan’ project for the international art exhibition documenta fifteen.

DAVRA has also produced the book Chilltan: Shapeshifting Eternal Spirits from Central Asia, which reimagines mythological entities through visuals and textual imagery. They also created Fridzine, a zine that focuses on one of Europe's oldest public museums, Fridericianum in Kassel, Germany, as a decolonial space for communal activity. The group has curated film screenings worldwide, including at the Netherlands’ Eye Museum, Paris’ Centre Pompidou, and Germany’s goEast23 Film festival to showcase different artistic and social statements from Central Asia.

DAVRA

DAVRA is a research group working across visual arts, activism and gender to develop the Central Asian artistic scene

@davracollective Art and Photography

@r4wlight Music London

Nour

Nour is an Egyptian musician who made her debut in 2021 with a blend of soul, R&B, jazz, and UK garage, mixing Arabic and English lyrics to evade easy genre categorisation. Her 2023 EP Daydreamer and debut single “Purple Heart” established Nour as a skilled lyricist with emotional depth and incisive production, while recent single “Nogoum” is a sumptuous bedroom pop track with whimsical lo-fi soundscapes that defines her introspective style, and lyrics that explore her complex struggle with anxiety.

Nour’s music represents a new wave in Egypt’s indie scene, challenging the dominance of mainstream pop by integrating local sounds with global influences. She is currently finishing her final year as a fashion design major too.

Nour

Nour is an Egyptian musician who made her debut in 2021 with a blend of soul, R&B, jazz, and UK garage, mixing Arabic and English lyrics to evade easy genre categorisation

@r4wlight Music London

@middleastarchive Changemaker

Middle East Archive

Middle East Archive is a creative photography-focused archive and independent book publisher founded by Romaisa Baddar in 2020. The archive is dedicated to rediscovering and celebrating the overlooked beauty and complexity of the SWANA region. It houses a rich tapestry of visuals, from candid moments to mundane interactions, highlighting the charm and diversity of the area.

Baddar is a curator of Moroccan and Egyptian descent raised in the Netherlands, who has propelled the archive to become a powerful tool for reclaiming narrative. With over 240,000 followers on Instagram, Middle East Archive has become a vital cultural space, challenging homogenised narratives and fostering a deeper understanding of the region's history and identity.

The platform extends beyond digital curation, with four published books of photography. Its recent release In the Name of God addresses rising Islamophobia in Europe, challenging western misconceptions of Islam with images celebrating the rich, resilient and beautiful cultural and religious life of the Muslim diaspora in France, and featuring artists including Algerian photographer Mohamed Lounes and Iranian photographer Abbas.

Middle East Archive

Middle East Archive is a creative photography-focused archive and independent book publisher founded by Romaisa Baddar in 2020

@middleastarchive Changemaker

@shayansjd Art and Photography

Shayan Sajadian

Shayan Sajadian is a photographer from Iran whose work explores the unseen, often ignored corners of his homeland, with a particular focus on marginalised communities. Sajadian’s background in architecture led on to his interest in photography, when he began documenting the neglected peri-urban areas surrounding his hometown of Shiraz.

Sajadian’s work often centres the struggles of people on society’s sidelines, such as individuals evicted from their homes near the historic site of Persepolis, or those grappling with addiction. He approaches his subjects with tenderness and empathy, seeking to challenge societal norms by presenting them as complex and multifaceted individuals, particularly in his portraits of Iranian women and men. Despite the risks involved in photographing such subjects in a country with strict social codes, Sajadian authentically depicts the lives of those who are consistently silenced.

Shayan Sajadian

Shayan Sajadian is a photographer from Iran whose work explores the unseen, often ignored corners of his homeland, with a particular focus on marginalised communities

@shayansjd Art and Photography

@nihalelaasar Changemaker London

Nihal El Aasar

Hailing from Cairo and now based in London, Nihal El Aasar is a writer, researcher, political analyst, radio host and DJ. Her work as a writer - which has been published in Verso, Jacobin, Art Review, Parapxis and GQ, among other outlets - tends to focus on the politics and culture of the Middle-East, which she explores with intellectual rigour, razor-sharp insight and uncompromising principles.

At a time when ‘decolonisation’ is so often reduced to an identity-based politics of gesture, El Aasar has emerged as one of the most incisive anti-colonial voices at work today, someone who not only writes about the struggle but – as an organiser with fellow Dazed 100ers the Palestine Youth Movement – plays an active role.

As the host of 'Nile to Bank' on NTS Radio, El Aasar showcases the cultural vitality of the MENA music scene, encompassing everything from left-field hip-hop and drill to experimental sound art. Whether as an activist, writer or DJ, few figures are doing more to illuminate pan-Arab solidarity and cultural expression in 2024.

Nihal El Aasar

Hailing from Cairo and now based in London, Nihal El Aasar is a writer, researcher, political analyst, radio host and DJ

@nihalelaasar Changemaker London

@yasminist Beauty Los Angeles

Yasmin Istanbouli

Yasmin Istanbouli is the Los Angeles-based makeup artist behind many of Charli XCX’s signature soft and smoky ‘party girl’ looks. Born in Saudi Arabia, her makeup style ranges from edgy and avant-garde to the luminous glam spotted on the likes of Greta Lee and Nara Smith at red-carpet events. Her versatility has made her a favourite among her celebrity clientele, including Camila Cabello, Ella Purnell, Amelia Gray, and Addison Rae. Istanbouli’s work has been featured in Vogue Arabia, HommeGirls, and more. She has previously collaborated with brands like Chanel, Dior, Pat McGrath Labs, Byredo, and Marc Jacobs.

Yasmin Istanbouli

Yasmin Istanbouli is the Los Angeles-based makeup artist behind many of Charli XCX’s signature soft and smoky ‘party girl’ looks

@yasminist Beauty Los Angeles

@kazna.asker Fashion London

Kazna Asker

Kazna Asker is a British-Yemeni fashion designer, based in London and hailing from Sheffield. Asker is known for designs that blend traditional Yemeni fabrics with Northern British streetwear, such as her recognisable nylon tracksuits and outerwear, and one-of-a-kind, hand-sewn pieces.

Asker made history as the first designer to present a hijabi collection at Central Saint Martins’ MA Fashion show in 2022. She is a recipient of the Debut Talent Prize at Fashion Trust Arabia, representing Yemen, and is part of the BFC NEWGEN program. She has shown collections at London Fashion Week, and her designs appeared in Kurt Geiger's People Empowerment Campaign.

Asker is also deeply involved in activism, advocating for greater diversity in education, while volunteering with refugees, and organising fundraisers that have raised thousands for causes in Yemen and Palestine. Through both work and life, she’s committed to community, activism and cultural storytelling.

Kazna Asker

Kazna Asker is a British-Yemeni fashion designer, based in London and hailing from Sheffield

@kazna.asker Fashion London

@sn3studio Fashion London

SN3 Studio

SN3 Studio is a Sudanese multidisciplinary design brand founded by Ahmed Shareef, Abdallah Abbas, and Mahdi Jali. Based in the UAE, the brand bridges fashion, art, filmmaking, and architecture to celebrate Sudanese and African creativity. Their work is deeply rooted in Sudanese heritage, reimagining traditional artistry through a contemporary lens. Collaborations include work with the legendary African artist Kamala Ishaq and producing a film with Crude, a MENA-based collective of artists.

By showcasing Sudanese craftsmanship and storytelling, SN3 Studio strives to build a circular creative economy within their country, from Sudanese cotton to Sudanese hands, and bringing local materials and artisanship to a global stage. Their Children of the Nile collection is inspired by the Nile’s cultural and historical legacy. SN3 Studio envisions a future where South West Asia and North Africa’s creative scene thrives autonomously.

SN3 Studio

SN3 Studio is a Sudanese multidisciplinary design brand founded by Ahmed Shareef, Abdallah Abbas, and Mahdi Jali

@sn3studio Fashion London

@mayahalkhateri Music Paris

Mayah Alkhateri

Mayah Alkhateri is an Emirati-Egyptian musician and one half of the band Kiss Facility, alongside producer and former Dazed 100er Sega Bodega. Based in Paris and born and raised in the UAE, Alkhateri blends shoegaze and indie rock with cultural Arabic influences, sonically challenging ideas about identity, creativity, and freedom. In Summer 2024, Kiss Facility supported Erika de Casier on tour. The duo produced three singles and the Esoteric EP in October 2023.

Alkhateri’s sound is shaped by the melodies and rhythms she would hear on Arabic music channels like Njoum Alkhaleej and Mazzika, and British artists like Genesis P-Orridge, who inspired her critical thinking and belief in music as a tool for change. For Alkhateri, Kiss Facility is both a music outfit and a platform for Middle Eastern women navigating oppression and double lives, a space to cultivate self-confidence and empowerment. She hopes to inspire others to embrace their beliefs and overcome challenges with love and understanding.

Mayah Alkhateri

Mayah Alkhateri is an Emirati-Egyptian musician and one half of the band Kiss Facility, alongside producer and former Dazed 100er Sega Bodega

@mayahalkhateri Music Paris

@nanupharr Changemaker London

Nawal Ibtissam Benali

Nawal Ibtissam Benali is a French-Amazigh Tunisian journalist, author and podcaster. Born in Tunis, Benali was raised in a family that would push her to take an early interest in the arts, history and culture. During her teenage years, she discovered sociology and began to question her surroundings with a clearer political perspective.

After starting her career in culture journalism, Benali moved her work toward social issues that related to the use of technology. Her later work focuses on questions of identity. In 2021, Benali launched the audio documentary project Y’a ça chez nous?, aimed at deconstructing anti-Black racism and examining it in North African countries and the French diaspora. She now plans to produce a sequel for this project, recording between Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and France.

Nawal Ibtissam Benali

Nawal Ibtissam Benali is a French-Amazigh Tunisian journalist, author and podcaster

@nanupharr Changemaker London

@mashaelalsaie Art and Photography

Mashael Alsaie

Mashael Alsaie is a Bahraini photographer and multimedia artist based between Bahrain and the UAE. Her research-driven practice uses text, image, and unconventional materials like tin and glass to explore biomimicry, folklore, science fiction and localised mythologies, crossing the boundaries of ecological systems and human narratives.

Her October 2024 solo exhibition, Gentle Porosities, explores the links between the body and the landscape, an examination of ecofeminism and systematic exploitation. She has participated in prominent residencies such as Residency Unlimited in Brooklyn, New York, and the Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation. Alsaie’s practice continues to offer urgent commentary on environmental and cultural concerns.

Mashael Alsaie

Mashael Alsaie is a Bahraini photographer and multimedia artist based between Bahrain and the UAE

@mashaelalsaie Art and Photography

@airafrique_ Art and Photography Paris

Air Afrique

Air Afrique is a Paris-based cultural platform and collective founded by Lamine Diaoune, Djiby Kebe, Jeremy Konko, and Amandine Nana. Taking its name from the historic pan-African airline, which was co-owned by 11 Sub-Saharan countries and ran from 1961 until 2002, the collective is dedicated to celebrating African heritage and fostering critical conversations around contemporary Afro-diasporic narratives.

Inspired by the airline’s in-flight magazine Balafon, the team behind Air Afrique launched their own annual magazine in 2023, with support from Bottega Veneta. The magazine engages with archival material, underrepresented African knowledge systems, and the work of emerging Black Francophone artists. Through these explorations, Air Afrique aims to provide nuanced insights into local and global conversations about post-colonial identity, heritage, and the politics of representation.

In 2025, Air Afrique will participate in MoMA's exhibition Ideas of Africa: Portraiture and Political Imagination, which examines the photographic portrait’s role in shaping Pan-African solidarity during mid-20th century decolonial movements.

Air Afrique

Air Afrique is a Paris-based cultural platform and collective founded by Lamine Diaoune, Djiby Kebe, Jeremy Konko, and Amandine Nana

@airafrique_ Art and Photography Paris

@yasminhero Entertainment Oslo

Yasmin Hero

Yasmin Hero is a Norwegian-Sudanese content creator, creative director, and production designer based in Oslo, Norway. Posting on TikTok since April 2021, she quickly gained a following with her fashion-focused transition videos and sense of style. In 2023, Hero’s viral “360” outfit check transition became one of the platform’s biggest trends that year. As an influencer, her style is defined by a sleek, masculine edge, often incorporating oversized clothes, slicked-back hair, bold glasses, and her signature love for collared shirts.

Yasmin Hero

Yasmin Hero is a Norwegian-Sudanese content creator, creative director, and production designer based in Oslo, Norway

@yasminhero Entertainment Oslo

@thearabsheriff Music London

Yasir Razak

Yasir Razak, also known as nabeel - نبيل, is a musician who was born in Baghdad and raised in the United States. Drawing inspiration from his family’s archival photos, Razak creates moody, atmospheric songs in the Iraqi dialect. His music blends genres and influences: Arabic music with shoegaze and grunge.

His nabeel - نبيل project reflects themes of self-acceptance, embracing imperfection, and navigating the space between cultures. Deeply involved in DIY music scenes since his early twenties, Razak’s music offers a bold and unique voice for those feeling caught between cultures. Through nabeel - نبيل and his EP najoom - نجوم, he encourages others to embrace their own distinct perspectives and authentic narratives.

Yasir Razak

Yasir Razak, also known as nabeel - نبيل, is a musician who was born in Baghdad and raised in the United States

@thearabsheriff Music London

@khajistan___ Changemaker

Khajistan

Khajistan is a digital and physical archive dedicated to preserving the art, words, and media of marginalised communities from the Indus to the Maghreb. It was founded by Saad Khan, who was inspired by the cultural legacy of ninth century Herat, Afghanistan.

Khajistan challenges mainstream historical narratives by highlighting the humour, myths, and creativity of people in these regions. The platform offers underrepresented communities safer avenues to document and share their stories, using the internet as a democratising space – they’re on their fifth Instagram account after multiple censorships and bans, and still they persist.

In 2024, Khajistan’s digital archive includes over 80,000 community-contributed photos and videos, while its physical repository, Toshakhana, houses the world’s largest collection of Pakistani film memorabilia, Islamicate Judaica, and rare or censored Urdu, Farsi, and Arabic publications.

Khajistan is a platform that’s driven by a belief in the right to visibility and beating back against cultural erasure, while confronting the scars of Islamic rule, European colonialism, and globalist homogenisation.

Khajistan

Khajistan is a digital and physical archive dedicated to preserving the art, words, and media of marginalised communities from the Indus to the Maghreb

@khajistan___ Changemaker

@rap_shar3 Music

Rap Shar3

Rap Shar3, Arabic for ‘street rap’, is a groundbreaking platform revolutionising the underground rap scene across the Arab world. Founded in 2021 by Egyptian musician and curator Nour el Din – known as Black B – alongside director Omar Mado, the group established itself with raw, dynamic rap ciphers filmed in urban landscapes.

Rap Shar3 has evolved into a cultural movement, with 559K Instagram followers. The platform showcases largely undiscovered talent, offering many young artists their first taste of widespread recognition. Performers like Ebn Tarek, Wingii, and DJ Mubarak have used Rap Shar3 to break into the wider rap scene. Rap Shar3 fosters dialogue around identity and inclusivity, using rap’s storytelling power to challenge narratives and highlight voices often overlooked in mainstream Arab culture.

Rap Shar3

Rap Shar3, Arabic for ‘street rap’, is a groundbreaking platform revolutionising the underground rap scene across the Arab world

@rap_shar3 Music

@dj.fouz Entertainment Kuwait

DJ FOUZ

DJ FOUZ is a Kuwait-based artist with a meme page that explores and documents the subcultures and campy, off-beat memes of the Gulf, traversing the space between real and surreal. DJ FOUZ’s Khaleeji music mixes soundtrack both worldwide clubs and catwalks, including scoring the Trashy Clothing label’s Spring/Summer 2023 show.

DJ FOUZ’s work platforms local MENA culture, slaloming the shadow banning and endless attempts at censorship to interrogate the social and political landscapes with a sense of wit and humour.

DJ FOUZ

DJ FOUZ is a Kuwait-based artist with a meme page that explores and documents the subcultures and campy, off-beat memes of the Gulf, traversing the space between real and surreal

@dj.fouz Entertainment Kuwait

@mgendy_ Art and Photography

Mariam El Gendy

Mariam El Gendy is an Egyptian photo artist based between Cairo and London, who documents Egyptian culture from the intersections of Islam and femininity. She has taken her documentary-style approach to the fashion industry too, working with the likes of Nadine Mos, Amina Muaddi, Kotn, and Hugo Boss, and also in styling and creative directing projects.

El Gendy holds a degree in Fashion Art Direction from Florence fashion school Polimoda. She cites the city of Cairo as one of her greatest sources of inspiration for her creative process and filmic storytelling. In November 2024, she presented the solo exhibition a pigeon sang backwards, and it smelled like home, an intimate series of photographs of life in Hagaiza, Egypt, telling stories of place, kin, and memory.

Mariam El Gendy

Mariam El Gendy is an Egyptian photo artist based between Cairo and London, who documents Egyptian culture from the intersections of Islam and femininity

@mgendy_ Art and Photography

@orientalismania Fashion Marseille

Valentine Newsha Valero

Valentine Newsha Valero is a French-Iranian researcher, visual artist and model based in Marseille. Her creative practice is deeply rooted in her cultural identity and explores themes of syncretism, memory, and underground culture, with a particular focus on Persian carpets and their symbolic significance.

Valero's work sits across multiple disciplines, including photography, video, and embroidery, hoping to inform and challenge perceptions of identity, particularly around issues such as Islamophobia, racism, and the impact of foreign and local policies on SWANA. Valero aims to beat back against Western-centric expectations, and instead, promote a creative industry that embraces local narratives. As a model she has appeared in L'Officiel, System, and Reedition. Valero is working on a film project and has aspirations to write and publish a book.

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Valentine Newsha Valero

Valentine Newsha Valero is a French-Iranian researcher, visual artist and model based in Marseille

@orientalismania Fashion Marseille

@furmaan.ahmed Art and Photography London

Furmaan Ahmed

Furmaan Ahmed is a multi-disciplinary artist and image-maker working across film, costume, photography and set design. Ahmed’s work explores trans archeology, nationalism and folklore, ornament and decadence, and queer futures. Born to Pakistani parents, Ahmed grew up in Glasgow and graduated from Central Saint Martins with a degree in Fine Art.

They have collaborated with artists and clients including Isamaya Ffrench, Willow Smith, Sadler Wells, Hermes, Shygirl, SOPHIE, and David Lachapelle. In 2017, they were the recipient of the Robertsons Scholarship and were named the winner of the 2021 British Fashion Council New Waves Creatives. Ahmed creates fantasy universes that reference ancient sites, nature, and hybrid futurism to create landscapes and experiences that feel like glitches in reality.

Furmaan Ahmed

Furmaan Ahmed is a multi-disciplinary artist and image-maker working across film, costume, photography and set design

@furmaan.ahmed Art and Photography London

@jennabey Fashion Paris

Jenn Abey

Jennifer Abeyratne – also known as Jenn Abey – is a stylist, model and creative of Sri Lankan heritage who grew up in Paris. She speaks four languages: French, Sinhala, Mandarin and English. Her personal aesthetic reflects a mix of ‘90s and ‘00s glamour and sportswear, while her styling work interpolates intricate layering and unique silhouettes, inspired by the surreal, supernatural and cinematic.

She has collaborated on creative and styling with brands including Comme des Garçons, Sonia Rykiel and Louboutin. While much of her work is in styling, casting, production and creative consulting, she continues to experiment in set design, with hopes to expand into architecture.

Jenn Abey

Jennifer Abeyratne – also known as Jenn Abey – is a stylist, model and creative of Sri Lankan heritage who grew up in Paris

@jennabey Fashion Paris

@daddyaaz Art and Photography

Yasser Al-Zahrani

Yasser Al-Zahrani is an art director, content creator, and artist born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. With a practice centred on small-scale worldbuilding, Al-Zahrani excels at creating spaces where other creatives can thrive by creating, casting, and sourcing props. His approach to art embraces a unique philosophy: while not everyone may call themselves an artist, he believes that everyone possesses the ability to create something from nothing. Al-Zahrani is inspired by Saudi Arabia’s rapid cultural transformation, viewing the current landscape as a blank canvas for Gen Z artists.

Yasser Al-Zahrani

Yasser Al-Zahrani is an art director, content creator, and artist born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

@daddyaaz Art and Photography

@wizard_bisan1 Changemaker

Bisan Owda

Bisan Owda is a Palestinian journalist and activist whose on-the-ground reporting from Gaza has reached an audience of millions. She has won a number of awards in the last year, including an Emmy for her documentary, I’m Bisan from Gaza and I’m Still Here.

Documenting her life and surroundings amid the most brutal conditions imaginable, Owda’s screen presence is warm, engaging and often remarkably cheerful, but she doesn’t shy away from showing her moments of grief and terror too. In this respect, her work is a powerful corrective to the dehumanising portrayal of Palestinians so common in the West. “I’m still alive” - the phrase with which she often opens her videos - suggests not just resilience but the vulnerability of her position: embedded within a civilian population deprived of basic resources and subjected to intense bombardment, as over 123 of her colleagues have been killed.

By broadcasting on TikTok and Instagram, Bisan represents a new form of journalism which has the power to circumvent the biases of Western media. She has become, for many, not just a human face to the war on Gaza but a symbol of tenacity, courage and resistance.

Bisan Owda

Bisan Owda is a Palestinian journalist and activist whose on-the-ground reporting from Gaza has reached an audience of millions

@wizard_bisan1 Changemaker

@zakia_khudadad Sport

Zakia Khudadadi

Zakia Khudadadi is a taekwondo athlete from Herat, Afghanistan, who is currently living in France. She began taekwondo aged nine, and first rose to prominence by winning the African International Paralympics Taekwondo Championship in 2016 at age 18. Khudadadi won a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, becoming the first-ever member of the Refugee Paralympic Team to do so.

Khudadadi's journey to the Paralympics has been marked by resilience: in 2021, she became the first female Afghan Paralympian in 17 years, competing under extraordinary circumstances after being evacuated from Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover. Khudadadi is currently training for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympics, and remains a beacon for 120 million displaced people worldwide alongside her fellow Refugee Paralympic team members.

Zakia Khudadadi

Zakia Khudadadi is a taekwondo athlete from Herat, Afghanistan, who is currently living in France

@zakia_khudadad Sport

@talimarjieh Fashion Los Angeles

Tali Marjieh

Tali Marjieh is a Palestinian-Chilean stylist and fashion designer, originally from Nazareth and now based in Los Angeles. She is the founder of the brand MARTAL, a label that focuses on femininity with pieces that feature skin tight silhouettes, leather, and gold. She is also known for designing and styling looks for her sister, the singer Elyanna – who she describes as a “mad Middle Eastern angel” with her style. Marjieh’s aesthetic combines elements of Arab Futurism with the ethereal, while highlighting Palestinian culture in designs that incorporate traditional motifs like coins, henna, tatreez (a form of Palestinian embroidery), and bandanas.

Tali Marjieh

Tali Marjieh is a Palestinian-Chilean stylist and fashion designer, originally from Nazareth and now based in Los Angeles

@talimarjieh Fashion Los Angeles

@myriamboulos Art and Photography Beirut

Myriam Boulos

Myriam Boulos is a photographer from Lebanon whose practice is intricately connected to, and shaped by, the country’s history and political and social landscape. “At the age of 16, I started to use a small camera to get closer to reality,” she says. “During my first years as a photographer I only took pictures at night, in black and white. I think that nightlife is similar to revolutions: it is about collectively exteriorizing things that we are taught to bottle up.”

Following the 2019 October revolution Boulous took to the streets to document its aftermath, and she credits this moment with her work becoming more collaborative, and less introspective – “I realized that by telling my own story, I was inevitably documenting the stories of other people.” Exhibited internationally, she has been featured in publications including FOAM, Time, GQ Middle East, Vogue Arabia, and Vanity Fair France, and she joined Magnum in 2021. In 2023 her book, What’s Ours, was published by Aperture, and she is currently working on a project which documents autism in wartime in Lebanon.

Myriam Boulos

Myriam Boulos is a photographer from Lebanon whose practice is intricately connected to, and shaped by, the country’s history and political and social landscape

@myriamboulos Art and Photography Beirut

@EvarHussayni Changemaker London

Êvar Hussayni

Êvar Hussayni is an archivist and multi-disciplinary researcher whose work is in part focused on Kurdish genealogies, identities and feminisms. She also takes a critical view towards the practice of archival work itself, interrogating how archived materials may privilege certain perspectives, create biases in our collective memory and perpetuate colonial violence.

Hussayni is the founder of the The West Asian and North African Women's Art Library (WANAWAL), a project which eschews traditional approaches to archival work in favour of alternative and anti-colonial methods. Open-source and publicly accessible, WANAWAL has built up an eclectic collection which includes photographs, home videos, audio materials, fine art books and radical literature.

She is also the co-director of AZEEMA, an independent print magazine, platform and creative agency which promotes the creativity of women and non-binary in the Global Majority. Her work has been showcased in galleries around the world, including the V&A, Art Basel Hong Kong and La Friche in Marseilles, and she has lectured at a number of prestigious educational institutions.

Êvar Hussayni

Êvar Hussayni is an archivist and multi-disciplinary researcher whose work is in part focused on Kurdish genealogies, identities and feminisms

@EvarHussayni Changemaker London

@salimazzam Fashion

Salim Azzam

Salim Azzam is a creative director and founder of his eponymous fashion label, which draws inspiration from his upbringing in the Chouf mountains. Originally from Lebanon, he launched Salim Azzam in 2016, with designs featuring emblems of nature and stories of his childhood on tailored silhouettes. His work celebrates traditional Lebanese craftsmanship and remains committed to preserving artisanal techniques, merging heritage with contemporary fashion.

Each piece is hand-embroidered by local craftswomen, including his mother, in Mount Lebanon. His atelier, located in Chouf, has become a platform for reviving traditional hand-stitching skills, empowering women in his community. He received the Fashion Trust Arabia Prize in 2019 for his ready-to-wear collection, which led to a partnership and stocking with Matches Fashion. In 2024, Azzam collaborated with Porsche on the regional project Keep Your Essence, highlighting artists who remain true to their roots and values.

Salim Azzam

Salim Azzam is a creative director and founder of his eponymous fashion label, which draws inspiration from his upbringing in the Chouf mountain

@salimazzam Fashion

@everythingWeirDo Art and Photography Cairo

WeirDo

Born Omar Sherif in Egypt, WeirDo is an artist who makes vast paintings, drawings and garment pieces too. WeirDo’s formative years were shaped by his diagnosis with Duchenne muscular dystrophy at the age of 9, and he began using a wheelchair two years later.

Though he had shown an early aptitude and engagement with art, taking lessons from the age of 6, the weakening of his muscles led him to pause making art for four years. A testament to his perseverance though, and the pull that innate talent for a discipline can have, WeirDo began making art again, having found inspiration from the work of Basquiat.

This past summer he exhibited works in the show “Empty Rooms” in Cairo – “This exhibition is an expression of my identity,” he said. “It is an expression of the isolation experienced by people with disabilities in a world that seeks to exclude them from daily life, from society and from general socialising.”

WeirDo

Born Omar Sherif in Egypt, WeirDo is an artist who makes vast paintings, drawings and garment pieces too

@everythingWeirDo Art and Photography Cairo

@AugustineParedes Art and Photography Frankfurt am Main

Augustine Paredes

Born in Cagayan de Oro in the Philippines, and now based between Frankfurt and Dubai, Augustine Paredes is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans photography, painting, poetry, and installations. Through all his mediums, he is particularly interested in exploring the nuances of diasporic people of post-colonial nations, in particular the Filipino community of which he is a part.

Themes of identity, the creation of narrative through history, and the particular longing that arises from belonging to a colonised nation, run through his work. In keeping with his community-centric practice, he runs Sa Tahanan Collective – a platform which aims to create a profile for Filipino art and creatives – alongside the curator Anna Bernice. His work has been exhibited internationally, and he has authored books of poetry and art, including 2020’s Conversations At The End Of The Universe, 2022’s Happy To Be Here To Be Happy and 2024’s Slow Disco.

Augustine Paredes

Born in Cagayan de Oro in the Philippines, and now based between Frankfurt and Dubai, Augustine Paredes is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans photography, painting, poetry, and installations

@AugustineParedes Art and Photography Frankfurt am Main

@aatma.amtaa Changemaker Beirut

AATMA

The Anti-Fascist Art, Techno and Music Alliance (AATMA) is a collective based in Beirut. AATMA was launched by Jessika Jamal Khazrik, a Lebanese-Armenian-Iraqi artist, who is also the founder and caretaker of collectivising platforms including “الظلم خريطة Cartography of Darkness” and “Reading Computers الحواسيب قراءة“”.

Over the past decade, she has been organising trans-generational assemblies, including Our World on Strike, and contributing to the practice of multiple collectives around the world. As well as organising, Jamal Khazrik makes music, performs and DJs.

In continuation of her techno-political, artistic practice and the online platforms she curates, Jamal Khazrik has also spent the last decade working as a technologist with multiple organisations and collectives around digital security, counter-surveillance and AI policy.

AATMA

The Anti-Fascist Art, Techno and Music Alliance (AATMA) is a collective based in Beirut

@aatma.amtaa Changemaker Beirut

@znali Fashion Lahore

Zain Ali

Zain Ali is an art director and founder of the label ZN ALI, which he launched in 2020. Moving from Pakistan to the UK in his childhood, Ali returned to Lahore in his twenties, and his work channels this experience of diasporic migration, as well as interrogating the façade of masculinity. He started ZN ALI as a tribute to his heritage and community. The clothes are made in Pakistan, and connect traditional craftsmanship with eclectic fabrics to evoke a sense of nostalgia and familiarity, honouring simplicity while connecting deeply with Pakistan’s growing creative community.

Zain Ali

Zain Ali is an art director and founder of the label ZN ALI, which he launched in 2020

@znali Fashion Lahore

@eliasriadi Fashion London

Elias Riadi

Elias Riadi is a Cypriot-Moroccan, London-based designer, who gained prominence as a founding member of YouTube sensation fashion show PAQ. PAQ gained a loyal, engaged audience for its accessible lens on streetwear, fun challenges, and playful take on self-expression through clothes. Riadi led the show with collaborators including Dexter Black, Danny Lomas, and Shaquille-Aaron Keith.

Riadi has worked elsewhere with brands including Maison Margiela, Burberry, Moncler, and Mercedes. He founded his brand ITER MORA in 2022, which intertwines Amazigh heritage with contemporary design. His debut collection was indebted to North Africa’s rich history of astronomy and storytelling. He has been recognised by the British Fashion Council for the New Wave Creatives.

Riadi also recently ventured into filmmaking, with his directorial debut, The City of Orion, based on the folkloric dance from the Guedra, highlighting the rich tapestry of North African culture and ancestry with a vibrant vision of the future.

Elias Riadi

Elias Riadi is a Cypriot-Moroccan, London-based designer, who gained prominence as a founding member of YouTube sensation fashion show PAQ

@eliasriadi Fashion London

@sarsurtu Art and Photography

Sara Bokr

Sara Bokr is a Palestinian architect, space designer, furniture maker, and 3D artist based in the United Arab Emirates. The founder of Circ Studio, a Dubai-based architecture and interior design studio, Bokr’s innovative, playful approach to design sees her combine architecture with her other disciplines to create emotionally resonant spaces and objects.

Her work has included designs for shelters for workers and private breastfeeding spaces in public, and raising awareness about the architecture of violence in Palestine. She has designed spaces for Dubai’s footwear, music and art festival Sole DXB, and collaborated with adidas Originals, Hypebeast, and Identity Magazine Middle East. Bokr’s breakthrough came with the creation of the Omooma Chair, which she designed during her time completing the Athath Fellowship, a programme for aspiring furniture entrepreneurs. Her diverse portfolio of projects champion creativity with social impact.

Sara Bokr

Sara Bokr is a Palestinian architect, space designer, furniture maker, and 3D artist based in the United Arab Emirates

@sarsurtu Art and Photography

@xawaashking Art and Photography Addis Abeba

Gouled Abdishakour Ahmed

Gouled Abdishakour Ahmed is a Somali visual artist, costume designer, textile artist and director, born in Djibouti and based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in historical studies from Bard College, New York, their self-portrait photography has been exhibited globally at institutions including London’s V&A Museum, The Brooklyn Museum, the Portland Museum of Art, The National Gallery of Victoria, and the Lahti Biennial, Finland.

Their art, with themes of memory and belonging, works to envision new concepts of the future. Series such as Our Earth Will Remember Us Again Someday and One Day These Names Will Be Ours seek to articulate gender expressions that exist outside of the binary, that formal language hasn’t yet introduced.

Ahmed collaborated with poet and filmmaker Asmaa Jama on the film The Season of Burning Things, commissioned by the Bristol Old Vic Theatre. Gouled also featured in the documentary The Ones Who Keep Walking, directed by Nigerian-American filmmaker Amarachi Nwosu, which shares the stories of Africa’s rising, boundary-pushing creatives.

Gouled Abdishakour Ahmed

Gouled Abdishakour Ahmed is a Somali visual artist, costume designer, textile artist and director, born in Djibouti and based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

@xawaashking Art and Photography Addis Abeba

Fashion London

Sylwia Nazzal

Sylwia Nazzal is a Palestinian-Polish fashion designer based in Amman, Jordan. She is the founder of Nazzal Studio, a brand at the intersection of fashion, ethics, and activism, which is deeply rooted in Palestinian heritage and resistance.

Nazzal Studio was founded during Nazzal’s university years at Parsons Paris, where she presented her graduate thesis collection, “What Should Have Been Home” in 2022/2023. Nazzal was awarded Fashion Trust Arabia’s Franca Sozzani Debut Talent award in 2024. In her acceptance speech, she drew attention to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Nazzal Studio prioritises ethical practices, collaborating with refugee women and advocating for community empowerment over mass production. Nazzal Studio challenges conventional fashion norms while championing urgent causes.

Sylwia Nazzal

Sylwia Nazzal is a Palestinian-Polish fashion designer based in Amman, Jordan

Fashion London

@wiz_khalifeh Art and Photography

Sophia Khalifeh

Sophia Khalifeh is a photographer, producer, and creative consultant from Lebanon who is currently based in Dubai. Khalifeh’s photography captures a sensual and intimate perspective of women from SWANA, inspired by natural landscapes and personal reflections to create harmonious visuals that centre women within their environments.

Her work takes her across beauty, fashion, editorial and entertainment photography, as well as event hosting for brands like Les Benjamins and Coach. She was also previously a guest editor at Hypebeast Arabia, and has produced and photographed for brands including Fendi, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Coach, and adidas. Her personal work has been featured on NOWNESS as a ‘Photographer In Focus’, and she has featured in a Canon campaign. Khalifeh also runs Campy Chronicles, a monthly book club.

Sophia Khalifeh

Sophia Khalifeh is a photographer, producer, and creative consultant from Lebanon who is currently based in Dubai

@wiz_khalifeh Art and Photography

@anthropology_bel3araby Changemaker Cairo

Farah Hallaba

Farah Hallaba is a social anthropologist and visual ethnographer. She obtained her MA in Social Anthropology and Visual Ethnography from the University of Kent. She started @anthropology_bel3araby انثروبولوجي بالعربي in 2019, a social account where she produces short, engaging and accessible videos on anthropological concepts in Arabic.

Alongside this digital work, she presents visual and collaborative anthropology workshops about social class and migration to the Gulf. In 2022, she produced Being Borrowed, a multimedia exhibition and publication. In 2024, Hallaba received a grant from AFAC to produce “Anthropology BelAraby Lab”, which works to create a space between anthropological inquiry and curatorial practices. She was previously a resident teaching fellow at CILAS teaching Ethnographic Studies. Hallaba shares a creative space in downtown Cairo, where she collaborates with artists to offer spaces for creative discussion-based knowledge and art production.

Farah Hallaba

Farah Hallaba is a social anthropologist and visual ethnographer. She obtained her MA in Social Anthropology and Visual Ethnography from the University of Kent

@anthropology_bel3araby Changemaker Cairo

@renaissance_renaissance Fashion Paris

Renaissance Renaissance

Renaissance Renaissance is a womenswear label founded in 2016 by Palestinian-Lebanese designer Cynthia Merhej, who is based in Paris. Renaissance Renaissance’s design ethos celebrates dualities – past and present, tradition and innovation, femininity and strength. The label creates timeless pieces that honour the rich heritage of Middle Eastern craftsmanship while redefining couture for modern women.

The label’s collections are made up of delicate silhouettes with military-grade materials and political undertones: in the SS25 collection, parachute-inspired constructions and repurposed military jackets were blended with diaphanous tulle and draped cottons, creating a duality of resistance and beauty. Loved by Chloë Sevigny and Caroline Polachek, Renaissance Renaissance has also earned nominations for the LVMH Prize and Fashion Trust Arabia Prize. At its core, the brand is a celebration of women’s stories and the resilient liberation movements of Merhej’s homelands.

Renaissance Renaissance

Renaissance Renaissance is a womenswear label founded in 2016 by Palestinian-Lebanese designer Cynthia Merhej, who is based in Paris

@renaissance_renaissance Fashion Paris

@zeeeeeea Art and Photography

Zaineb Abelque

Zaineb Abelque is a British-Moroccan, self-taught photographer who uses photography to connect faith, diaspora, fashion and people. Abelque is also the co-founder of Athene Club, a dynamic community that encourages women to embrace the outdoors and feel empowered through education and creativity.

Her first solo exhibition, Inside, Outside, was showcased at London’s Truman Brewery in 2023, and received acclaim for its perspective on faith and identity in the diaspora. The exhibition reflected on Ramadan and Eid, and Abelque also created a one-shot Super 8 film that immersed viewers in the atmospheric journey of Eid morning prayer, symbolising a season of renewal and joy.

Zaineb Abelque

Zaineb Abelque is a British-Moroccan, self-taught photographer who uses photography to connect faith, diaspora, fashion and people

@zeeeeeea Art and Photography

@the.thin.wh1te.duke Music Cairo

Noureen Arabeen

Noureen Arabeen is an Egyptian musician based in Cairo who is passionate about blending her cultural heritage with rock and metal sounds. She sings and plays guitar, keyboard, ukulele, and harmonica, creating both original music and covers.

Her musical journey began with an early fascination with the tapes and radio broadcasts her parents listened to, sparking a love for artists like Mohammed Abdel Wahab, David Bowie, and Queen. These influences are reflected in her deft mix of traditional sounds with contemporary rock and metal.

Having grown up in a conservative environment, she uses her music to advocate for self-expression and cultural identity, hoping to inspire others to embrace their true selves through creativity and sound. She is working on her first album, which reflects her blend of traditional music and modern rock, and covers that reinterpret classics. She is also the owner of Egyptian vintage shop Blackstar.

Noureen Arabeen

Noureen Arabeen is an Egyptian musician based in Cairo who is passionate about blending her cultural heritage with rock and metal sounds

@the.thin.wh1te.duke Music Cairo

@biji_________ Music

BIJI

Artist and actor Robin Nazari and music producer and director Maceo Frost are BIJI, a musical project that unites Kurish and Western Asian traditions with contemporary hip-hop, Latin, dance, and Afrobeat sounds. The duo’s goal with their music is to transcend borders, and explore life, love, self-expression and community through the lens of their Kurdish culture for a global audience. Music like their distinctive, bouncy beat single “Zo” and its accompanying cinematic video is a statement of intent. They released their debut self-titled album in June 2024.

Both halves of BIJI are creatives in their own right too. Robin Nazari is a Kurdish-Swedish artist, actor, and poet who has released three Swedish language albums. Maceo Frost is Stockholm-based, award-winning film director and music producer whose work often focuses on street culture, dance and hip-hop. As artists of the diaspora, honouring the Kurdish culture’s battle for respect and the conflict their community has endured is integral to their work. “My dad and their whole generation gave up lives for the freedom I have today,” says Robin. “We're showing the beauty of the Middle East through our own lens."

BIJI

@biji_________ Music

@free.gaza.circus Changemaker Gaza

Free Gaza Circus

Free Gaza Circus is a non-profit organisation working to create safe and engaging spaces for Gaza's young people using circus arts. Clowns, juggling, and parkour come to the Gaza Strip to spread joy to children.

The organisation, which was founded in 2018, provides workshops in circus arts and gymnastics to support young people dealing with psychological stress and the challenges of displacement and conflict. They seek to empower young people and create joyful communities where physical skills are developed, mental wellbeing is fostered, and there's a sense of enduring solidarity amid much-needed entertainment and fun. In 2024, Free Gaza Circus received a Cultures of Resistance Award.

Free Gaza Circus

Free Gaza Circus is a non-profit organisation working to create safe and engaging spaces for Gaza's young people using circus arts

@free.gaza.circus Changemaker Gaza

@sadaa.sound.syndicate Music

Sadaa Sound Syndicate

Sadaa Sound Syndicate (SSS) is a cross-border collective of self-organised Syrians attuned to the transformative potential of sound. Operating as a performing syndicate and an experiment in radical collaboration, SSS works to create connections across dispersed Syrian communities, challenging both physical and imagined distances. In the face of war, displacement, and political upheaval, they advocate for plurality, resisting essentialist narratives and embracing the multiplicity of Syrian identities.

In 2024, SSS co-produced Sawt Syria (Arabic for ‘The Sound of Syria’) in collaboration with Boiler Room, a two-part series highlighting Syria’s underground music scenes. Featuring live broadcasts and video essays from Damascus and Berlin, the project captured the sonic diversity of Syrian DJs and producers, celebrating the resilience of the culture.

Sadaa Sound Syndicate

Sadaa Sound Syndicate is a cross-border collective of self-organised Syrians attuned to the transformative potential of sound

@sadaa.sound.syndicate Music

@bilalelkadhi Art and Photography

Bilal El Kadhi

Bilal El Kadhi is a French-Tunisian photographer and film director, whose work is imbued with heritage and intricate cultural exchange. His films Yonder (2022) and Life of Isaaq (2019) explore the layers of hope, beauty and hardship of life in Tunisia, and the journeys of those who try to escape.

Bilal El Kadhi’s dreamy, sundrenched vignettes of the island of Djerba give space for pleasure and conviviality in a place with a conflicted history and deep-rooted conservatism. His 2023 short film The White Book is a stunning visual exploration of Abrahamic religions and their communities. As well as film, El Kadhi’s work as a photographer often takes him into the fashion realm, where he shoots for brands including Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta, and Isabel Marant.

Bilal El Kadhi

Bilal El Kadhi is a French-Tunisian photographer and film director, whose work is imbued with heritage and intricate cultural exchange

@bilalelkadhi Art and Photography

@sakirkhader Art and Photography

Sakir Khader

Sakir Khader is a Palestinian documentary photographer and film director based in the Netherlands. His work explores the relationship between life and death in conflict zones in SWANA, with an emphasis on Palestine. Khader began his career in Syria in 2018, later expanding to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine.

Using a raw, cinematic style to capture intimate moments of everyday life amid violence, Khader’s works include The Ruins of Iraq, the Dutch film prize Golden Calf-nominated Obada, and Life on the West Bank before 7 October, which earned him the Silver Camera in 2023. In 2024, he joined Magnum Photos as the agency’s first Palestinian photographer. His series from Beita during the Sheikh Jarrah uprising brought him international acclaim. In 2024, he published Dying to Exist, a photo book capturing life in the Jenin refugee camp on the West Bank, intertwining the stories of martyrs, fighters, and survivors.

Sakir Khader

Sakir Khader is a Palestinian documentary photographer and film director based in the Netherlands

@sakirkhader Art and Photography

@palestinianyouthmovement Changemaker

The Palestinian Youth Movement

The Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) is a transnational, grassroots organisation which has played a pivotal role in the campaign against Israel’s annihilationist war on Gaza. Comprising 14 chapters across North America and Europe, the PYM has mobilised hundreds of thousands of young people, supported the largest student protest movement in decades, and engaged in a range of direct action tactics, including shutting down roads, airports, ports and weapons factories.

PYM has achieved a number of concrete victories in the past year: its ‘Mask off Maersk’ campaign which targeted one of the world’s largest shipping companies, Maersk, for its role in facilitating the weapons trade – led to the Spanish government filing a lawsuit against the company and blocking it from sending weapons shipments to Israel from Spain. Against the resounding failure of Western governmens to put an end to the genocide, PYM’s example shows that networks of committed activists can, at the very least, impose a significant cost upon those who support it.

The Palestinian Youth Movement

The Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) is a transnational, grassroots organisation which has played a pivotal role in the campaign against Israel’s annihilationist war on Gaza

@palestinianyouthmovement Changemaker

@dogi_ Fashion

Dogi

Dogi is a stylist and creative consultant based in both Paris and Berlin. Real name Dogukan Nesanir, he was born in Berlin and raised by his mother and Turkish grandparents, who immigrated to Berlin in the ‘60s.

At 16-years-old, he dropped out of school to pursue photography and fashion design. By 18, he was photographing street fashion in Berlin, and by 21, he was styling Pamela Anderson in Stella McCartney on a yacht in the French Riviera. Later he would become fashion director at INDIE magazine.

He has gone on to style for publications including Dazed, AnOther, Harper’s Bazaar, T Magazine, V Magazine and REEDITION, brands including COS, and runway styling for brands including Doublet and SVRC. He is driven by a desire to provide a platform for marginalised voices and unique characters, inspired by his own personal experiences and upbringing.

Dogi

Dogi is a stylist and creative consultant based in both Paris and Berlin

@dogi_ Fashion

@dinaayada Music

Dina Ayada

Dina Ayada is a Belgium-born, Moroccan artist, making hip-hop that speaks to her Arabic heritage, European upbringing, and contemporary life in the United States. After signing her first record deal in the US, Dina released her debut EP Superstar! in 2023. Her second EP The Script dropped in June 2024, which traces her life after dropping out of law school to fully focus on her music.

2024 also saw her embark on an international tour with rapper Gunna, as well as her first headline tour in China, the Starlight tour. With dexterous lyrics, club-ready sounds, and hip-hop via pop sensibilities, Ayada has gained co-signs from Playboi Carti, Saweetie, Swae Lee and more. 2025 will see her continue to play international shows and cultivate an already avid fanbase.

Dina Ayada

Dina Ayada is a Belgium-born, Moroccan artist, making hip-hop that speaks to her Arabic heritage, European upbringing, and contemporary life in the United States

@dinaayada Music

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Explore Dazed 100 By Category

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