Artist Interview - Ismail Jaddi
Most North Americans know very little about your home. What is Morocco like for you as a citizen? As an artist?
Morocco is home. Emotionally, visually, spiritually. It is a land of contrasts that shapes who I am. As a citizen, I feel its warmth and witness its struggles. I live within its beauty and its limitations. There is generosity in the culture and strength in the people, but also frustration in how systems and unspoken expectations can confine you.
Ismail Jaddi
As an artist, Morocco challenges and inspires me at the same time. The streets are alive with stories. The light is poetic. The silence in people’s expressions speaks volumes. But making art here often feels like speaking in a language that not everyone understands or values. That only pushes me to go deeper. My photography becomes a personal necessity, a way of surviving and witnessing.
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I love being Moroccan. It is not something I am proud of because pride suggests achievement. I did not choose this. It is a gift. But what I choose to do with it is what gives it meaning. Every image I create is a conversation between myself and this land.
The stereotypes cast Morocco as mysterious and dangerous. What should people know?
Moroccan people are like people everywhere in the world. What really sets us apart is culture, and of course, religion plays a role, just as Christianity does in many parts of the world, like in America. But at the end of the day, we all share the same human experiences, dreams, and struggles.
What's your origin story? Birth, childhood, school days? Any early memories or experiences that have made a difference?
I was born in Salé, one of the oldest cities in Morocco and in Africa. A city once feared for its pirates and now forgotten in many ways. But Salé breathes history. It holds in its narrow streets and crumbling walls a certain dignity. It is raw and real. That contradiction shaped me deeply.
What people might not know about Morocco is that it’s a land rich in art and creativity. We have a deep tradition of craftsmanship, music, and storytelling. Art here isn’t just something we admire it’s a form of resistance, even if it’s not always recognized as such. In many parts of the world, especially in places like Morocco, art can be a quiet form of rebellion against what we’re told to accept. It’s a way for us to express the complexity of our lives, the beauty in our struggles, and the hope for change. We have always been creators, even in the face of adversity. Art has always been a way for us to hold onto our identity and to make sense of the chaos around us.