Ismail Zaidy (Moroccan, b. 1997) is a self-taught photographer who stages his family in pastel-toned, fabric-draped compositions shot from the rooftop of his family home in Marrakech.,He calls the space Studio Sa3ada, or Studio of Happiness, and shoots entirely on a Samsung Galaxy S5 phone.,
Zaidy began photographing in 2017 without formal training, and in 2018 started 3aila (Family), a project made with his younger siblings Othmane and Fatimazohra on their rooftop.,The series became his first solo exhibition, “3aila”, held at Hassan Hajjaj's Riad Yima gallery in Marrakech from February to June 2020.,That year Zaidy was named one of five winners of the CAP Prize for contemporary African photography for 3aila.
The British Journal of Photography named Zaidy in its 2022 list of “Ones to Watch”.In 2023 he exhibited at Photo London, 1-54 Marrakech, and Zona MACO, and joined the roster of MAĀT Gallery in Paris.,In 2024 he received the Tasweer Project Award for The Family, an extension of 3aila. In 2025 his photographs were shown at the Tasweer Photo Festival in Doha.
Alongside his gallery exhibitions, Zaidy has also released photographs as NFTs on platforms including SuperRare and Foundation.In 2022 a work from his HOPE أمل (2020) series, made with Fatimazohra and their mother as stylist, was displayed in Times Square after being minted with NFT.Kred. It was later exhibited at NFT NYC in 2024. Blossom (2021), released with World of Women, engaged themes of identity and empowerment.Zaidy is among the participants in Fellowship's IZZA Associate Artists Program, a Marrakech-based residency for Moroccan artists. The gallery has installed works from his series Souls escape in the city.
