Touria El Glaoui, born in 1974, is a Franco-Moroccan entrepreneur, founding director of the

1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair 1:54 is an annual contemporary African art fair held in London during the October Frieze Week since 2013. It was organized to improve the representation of contemporary African art in worldwide exhibitions, and is the foremost art fair dedica ...

, which is held every year in London, New York City and

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

. The fair, which draws its name from the 54 countries that make up the African continent, is dedicated to promoting the awareness and emergence of the contemporary African art market globally.

Biography

Born in 1974 in

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

, she is the daughter of the painter Hassan El Glaoui and the Givenchy former model, Christine Legendre. She is also the granddaughter of Thami El Glaoui, Pasha of

, who played a significant political and military role in Morocco during the French protectorate. She spent her childhood in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...

, where she was educated at the Royal College. She then moved to New York City to study strategic management and international affairs at Pace University. After her academic studies, she first worked for the investment bank Salomon Smith Barney in New York City, where she held the position of wealth management advisor, before moving to London in 2001 where she joined the Cisco Systems group. As part of this position, she was travelling between the

African continent Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and the Middle East, where she deepened her curiosity and interest in their art and creators. During those years, she co-curated and organized exhibitions in London and Marrakech of her father's work and his relationship with

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

. She resigned from her employment in 2013 to create 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair. Its first edition was held in London in October 2013, at

Somerset House Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadrangle was built on the site of a Tudor palace ("O ...

. She then developed this fair in New York, where it has been held annually since 2015, and in Marrakesh, since 2018. Through the years, Touria has chaired and spoken globally in several conferences and debates on contemporary African art and women in leadership at leading institutions. She is also on the Christie’s Education advisory board in London.

Achievements

* Forbes listed her amongst the 100 most powerful women in Africa in 2016. *

Jeune Afrique ''Jeune Afrique'' (English: ''Young Africa'') is a French-language pan-African weekly news magazine, founded in 1960 in Tunis and subsequently published in Paris. It is the most widely read pan-African magazine. It is also a book publisher, unde ...

listed her amongst the 50 most powerful women in Africa in 2015, 2018, 2019. * New African listed her amongst the 100 most influential Africans in business in 2013 and 2020. *In February 2019, she was made Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la République Française.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glaoui, Touria People from Casablanca Pace University alumni Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 1974 births Living people