Hassan Hajjaj and the exhibition arc since La Salle de Gym
Published on 08/27/2026 at 10:14 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Hassan Hajjaj has built a recognizably vibrant visual language that moves between street culture, fashion and photography. One key example is the outdoor project La Salle de Gym des Femmes Arabes (The Arab Women’s Gym) at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, where his images transform the park into a temporary gym environment, as the museum describes. The same mix of bold color, portraiture and branded patterns runs through his ongoing series from Kesh Angels to My London Rockstars, linking Casablanca to London and beyond.
Recent exhibition arc in Toronto
The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto presents La Salle de Gym des Femmes Arabes (The Arab Women’s Gym) as an outdoor exhibition in Aga Khan Park, running from September 13, 2025 to September 7, 2026, and describes it as a photographic series by Moroccan-British artist, designer and photographer Hassan Hajjaj. Aga Khan Museum exhibition page The project centers on large-scale photographic prints installed in the park, showing women in sportswear and patterned outfits staged in a stylized gym environment that merges pop aesthetics with North African motifs.
According to the museum’s description, the exhibition is free to visit in the park, while general museum admission covers the rest of the collections and special exhibitions. Aga Khan Museum exhibition page This layout underlines how Hajjaj’s work operates both as public intervention and as part of an institutional exhibition program, situating his portraits of women within broader debates on representation, leisure and visibility in public space.
How museums frame Hassan Hajjaj
The Studio Museum in Harlem presents the photograph Romancia from Hajjaj’s Kesh Angels series within the exhibition Dreams of this Future: The Collection of Peggy Cooper Cafritz, citing it as part of the late collector’s bequest and listing it under inventory number 2018.40.106. Studio Museum event notice The museum notes that the work is a metallic lambda print mounted on dibond, emphasizing the combination of photographic technique and sculptural presentation.
Within that collection context, Hajjaj’s Kesh Angels portraits are positioned alongside works by other artists of the African diaspora, underlining his role in conversations about global Black and Brown visual culture. Studio Museum event notice The institutional framing highlights how his images, often rooted in Marrakech and London street scenes, have moved into major North American museum collections over the past decade.
All news and background on Hassan Hajjaj
For further coverage of Hassan Hajjaj’s exhibitions, auctions and institutional projects, the AD HOC NEWS archive offers additional context on his evolving practice.
The work core between Casablanca and London
Hassan Hajjaj works across photography, installation, design and fashion, often building immersive environments that combine patterned walls, custom furniture and framed photographs into a single scenographic space. Sotheby’s editorial overview His portraits typically show sitters in patterned outfits set against equally intense backdrops, with frames made from consumer goods and branded packaging.
Where the artist stands now
Hassan Hajjaj currently has no announced date within the next 30 days that meets the public institutional criteria surveyed here, while his Toronto and collection presentations continue to anchor his recent visibility.
Key facts on Hassan Hajjaj
- Artist: Hassan Hajjaj
- Medium / Genre: Photography and installation (portrait-based)
- Born: 1961, Larache, Morocco
- Place(s) of practice: Studio practice between London and Marrakech
- Active since: Late 1980s, with wider exhibition presence from the 1990s
- Key work groups: Kesh Angels, My Rockstars, La Salle de Gym des Femmes Arabes
- Current/last exhibition: La Salle de Gym des Femmes Arabes (The Arab Women’s Gym), Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, September 13, 2025–September 7, 2026
- Major collections: Tate (London), Victoria and Albert Museum (London), Brooklyn Museum (New York), Studio Museum in Harlem (New York)
- Awards: Middle East Art Award 2011 (Victoria and Albert Museum’s Jameel Prize shortlist context, among other recognitions)
- Next date: currently no announced date in the 30-day window
Frequently asked questions about Hassan Hajjaj
Where can I see Hassan Hajjaj’s work in a museum setting?
Hassan Hajjaj’s outdoor exhibition La Salle de Gym des Femmes Arabes (The Arab Women’s Gym) is on view at the Aga Khan Museum’s park in Toronto through September 7, 2026, as the museum specifies, and his work also appears in collection displays such as at the Studio Museum in Harlem.
Which series by Hassan Hajjaj is held in the Peggy Cooper Cafritz collection?
The Studio Museum in Harlem lists Hajjaj’s photograph Romancia from the Kesh Angels series as part of the Peggy Cooper Cafritz collection, catalogued under inventory number 2018.40.106.
What defines the visual style of Hassan Hajjaj’s portraits?
His portraits often combine bright textiles, sportswear and branded consumer goods arranged into patterned frames, producing a layered look that blends North African street aesthetics with global fashion and pop-cultural references.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
