Anass Dou: Navigating Passion, Profit, and the Evolution of a Moroccan Visual Artist
Visual artist Anass Dou opens up about his journey from Meknes to the global stage, translating Moroccan urban culture into a dialogue between heritage, modernity, and the quest for artistic authenticity.
Anass Doujdid, a multi-hyphenate artist from Meknes, has spent his life translating the pulse of Moroccan urban culture into a vibrant tapestry of paint, pixels, and passion. Known professionally as Anass Dou and formerly as Dou Stoun, he’s a visual storyteller whose journey from doodling on school desks to the global stage of animated film and fine art speaks to a profound dedication to his craft.
Anass’s work is a powerful dialogue between heritage and modernity, a testament to his belief that true art is born from authenticity and lived experience. In a world that often asks artists to choose one lane, he refuses the binary, embracing his identity as a “visual artist” whose practice is a living archive of Moroccan hip-hop spirit.
In a conversation with DimaTOP, Anass discussed his artistic journey, from its raw beginnings in Meknes alleyways to the specific choices behind his unique style, his use of Arabic script, and his transition into film and fine art. He also opened up about the profound personal growth he experienced along the way, navigating the challenges of balancing passion with the financial realities of being an artist.
Beginnings: Bubble Letters Before the Books
Anass’s artistic journey began not with formal training but with a simple curiosity. In the mid-2000s, as a teenager in Meknes, he discovered a Spanish magazine filled with intricate typography that captivated his imagination. Even before he knew the word “graffiti,” he was copying wild fonts and doodling bubble letters on school desks. With no money for spray cans, he painted walls with coal, slowly building the skills that would eventually allow him to invest in professional-grade materials.
He recalls a time when he and his friends would “write on school tables in a unique way, letters in bubble style before we saw or heard of them.” He recalls “what we did at schools was our best art because it was 100% natural, real, and kinda just innate,” describing a pre-internet purity where influence wasn’t imported that much. This philosophy of genuine creation has defined his career. “When you plan your art, it doesn’t work and for me, it’s not art anymore,” he says, highlighting his preference for organic evolution over calculated strategy.
A major inspiration came from discovering the work of fellow artist Rabie on Skyblog, a popular blogging platform at that time. He would spend hours in cybercafés, studying Rabie’s work, driven by a simple question: “how does he do it?” This curiosity hardened into craft. By 2010–2011, Anass entered FMUD, the country’s only graffiti competition at the time, and won, and suddenly finding himself labeled ‘the best graffiti artist in Morocco’.
Watch الصوم عند الشعوب – Fasting Among Nations | This Al Jazeera Documentary (الجزيرة الوثائقية) film, ‘The Fast: A Journey into Abstinence,’ embarks on a quest across time and space to explore why humanity fasts. The documentary explores how fasting elevates body and soul, why ancient sages practiced it, and how different civilizations perceive it. In this global exploration, Anass, featured on the film’s thumbnail, portrays a Hindu Sadhu.
"My Language, My Home Address": Arabic Script as Rebellion
For Anass, graffiti isn’t a borrowed art form but a personal and cultural expression. He has consistently used Arabic script in his work, a concsious choice rooted in a deep sense of identity. To him, using a foreign language would make no sense. He draws a parallel to how urban culture around the world, from American gangs to global activists, uses their own language to state their presence. “Arabic is the original language, that’s my language, that’s how I let them know who I am and where I come from,” he states. He adds, “I did graffiti before knowing about the U.S.; the rules of graffiti don’t concern me much.”
This philosophy is a conscious rebellion against a “colonial mindset” he observes in the Moroccan art scene, where foreign artists and judges are often prioritized, and sometimes visiting artists are paid “ten times” local rates. He detests the idea of imitating Western trends, a sentiment that fuels his drive to discover “what is a real Moroccan hip-hop?” within the country’s diverse artistic landscape, as he doesn’t think rappers imitating Americans represent “real rap” of their nation. “Don’t ask me to appeal to the West. I’m a young Moroccan who grew up in the urban culture of my city,” he says.
His hometown of Meknes is central to this narrative. Often dubbed “the city of style,” it’s a place where artists have long pushed boundaries. Anass points to the city’s deep-rooted urban culture, from the first major hip-hop gathering to the longest graffiti wall in the country, as proof of its foundational role in Moroccan hip-hop. He believes Meknes gave birth to graffiti in Morocco and to tag there is considered an honor for artists nationwide.
A Multidisciplinary Master: From Canvas to Film
While graffiti remains his first love, Anass has never limited himself. His ambition and relentless curiosity have led him to master an array of disciplines, from screen printing and sewing to film and digital art. “I never shy away from asking for knowledge,” he says, a practice that has allowed him to seamlessly transition between mediums.
This versatility has been both a creative and a professional asset. He gained early recognition after his unique graffiti-on-canvas technique earned him a spot on a national television program on 2M. This experience introduced his work to a wider audience. His artistic evolution is perhaps best encapsulated by his journey into animation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, his skills in digital art and animation proved to be a lifeline. This adaptability underscores a key lesson for him: “if I only knew graffiti, I’d have stayed out of business for years, that’s why learning new things is good.”
His animated short film, Hors Cadre (Out of Frame), is a powerful expression of his artistic philosophy. The film, which won the Aïcha Grand Prix for Animation at the FICAM festival in 2019, tells the story of a young man who rebels against a conventional path to embrace his true talent and explore the world on his own terms, a narrative that mirrors Anass’s own life. This film also secured him a spot at the prestigious Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France in 2021, marking a significant milestone in his career.
On a Broader Stage: TV, Exhibitions, and Community
Anass’s journey has taken him from the streets to television studios and galleries. In 2011, he appeared on 2M with an upside-down live painting reveal, a concept he developed, “you should see people’s faces when I finish painting and flip the frame upside down,” he laughs. That same year, he and painter Soufiane Zorgan took their inverted portrait performance to Arab’s Got Talent, reaching the semi-finals. While recognition was a high, he also experienced the lows of balancing art with business, admitting, “Sometimes situations make us choose money over passion.” This struggle led him to the crucial realization: “you do art, but you need to do business as well, sometimes even more than art itself.” This has resulted in commercial collaborations with major brands like Sigma and Al Jazeera Documentaries.
His commitment to his roots and his community is evident in projects like “Aji Nrasmo“ (Come let’s paint), a community-based mural event he organized in Meknes in 2017, drawing TV crews and neighbors alike before officials forced a stop. He also backpacked Morocco asking villagers for permission to paint their homes, “most of them said yes,” and kept his alphabet consistent: Arabic only. “Reasons and purpose for tagging are different from country to country,” he notes, name-checking early street figure 3wina as someone who deserves far more recognition.
In recent years, Anass has staged a run of exhibitions and workshops that channel street matter into gallery form. His 2025 solo show, “Dou in the Wall,” at the American Arts Center in Casablanca, curated by Ibtissam Ghazoui, crystallized the idea: transform the city into a living archive. He pulled the street directly into the work, using materials like limewash, stones, aerosol, and paper so the pieces feel excavated and built at once. He also continues to lead workshops and residencies across Morocco, from Asilah’s Maison de l’Art Contemporain to Dar America, treating pedagogy as a way to protect a local code while evolving it.
Watch Dou and Zorg يرسمان فاتن حمامة بدقيقة | Anass Dou and Soufian Zorg draw Egyptian film actress Faten Hamama in one minute.
Philosophy: Frequencies of Respect
When asked about the state of graffiti in Morocco, he doesn’t mince words about the “colonial mindset” that still shapes budgets and hierarchies. “Why have a foreigner as a judge? Why do they get priority on the wall, even the cans we must bring while theirs are provided? Why pay them 70,000 DH and us 7,000?” he asks. The critique is less bitterness than boundary-setting. He wants a scene where Moroccan artists aren’t props in their own house.
His remedy is to model another approach—learn constantly, collaborate locally, and make the work speak in the language of the street that birthed it. He admires elders and unsung figures alike, pushing for recognition of early Moroccan street artists such as 3wina.
Exhibitions and Residencies: Building a Living Archive
- ZMITA (2019, L’Uzine; French Institute of Meknes): Translating neighborhood grit into graphic poetics.
- Rébellion (2020): A sharpened stance on identity and defiance.
- Between بين ما (2024, L’Uzine) and Triphazé 3 residency: Material research with lime, iron, brick, pigment, poster, and concrete— layered like neighborhoods.
- Dou in the Wall (2025, American Arts Center, Casablanca; curated by Ibtissam Ghazoui): Street matter; limewash, stones, aerosol, paper, pulled into the gallery, turning pieces into excavated-then-built artifacts. From compact “Moi” works to large compositions like Berrima Jedida and the Meknes suite, the show insists the museum step outside.
Workshops and Bridges: Industry, Media, and the Grind
The teaching arm is robust. He’s led stop-motion workshops at FICAM and across European Film Weeks in Morocco; run graffiti sessions at Morocco Mall, the French Institutes of Kenitra and Meknes; guided programs with Dar America, the Ali Zaoua Foundation, the U.S. Embassy; and taken residencies from Asilah’s Maison de l’Art Contemporain to UM6P in Laayoune.
Between 2015 and 2025, Anass’s credits sprawl: murals for OCP and the NBA in Khouribga; the collective skatepark build at JIDAR, Toiles de Rue (Rabat, 2017); residencies in Marrakech; festival walls from Ouarzazate to Taounate; and a flurry of commercial and TV animation work. He also spent “about four years” with Al Jazeera Documentaries. In Casablanca, he became a go-to name, “many saw me as the big name,” he concedes, handling decoration for SIGMA’s La Vache qui Rit campaign, fielding requests from directors like Amine Rwani, and growing a YouTube channel that surged to tens of thousands of followers before health issues forced a pause.
WATCH Anass Dou – Light that does not extinguish | Anass on “Young Moroccan artists”
Exhibitions and Residencies: Building a Living Archive
- ZMITA (2019, L’Uzine; French Institute of Meknes): Translating neighborhood grit into graphic poetics.
- Rébellion (2020): A sharpened stance on identity and defiance.
- Between بين ما (2024, L’Uzine) and Triphazé 3 residency: Material research with lime, iron, brick, pigment, poster, and concrete— layered like neighborhoods.
- Dou in the Wall (2025, American Arts Center, Casablanca; curated by Ibtissam Ghazoui): Street matter; limewash, stones, aerosol, paper, pulled into the gallery, turning pieces into excavated-then-built artifacts. From compact “Moi” works to large compositions like Berrima Jedida and the Meknes suite, the show insists the museum step outside.
Conclusion: A Legacy in Progress
Anass Dou is an archivist of urban culture, using his vast array of skills to document and celebrate the narratives of his city and its people. His journey is one of resilience and self-discovery. He recounts the challenges of balancing passion with the financial realities of being an artist, and the emotional toll of being “broke but people think I am rich.”
Anass is still moving. He continues to lead workshops and build exhibitions to refine a practice where the wall and the frame inform one another. His oeuvre is an argument for independence, craft, and cultural fidelity. The lesson is clear: stay close to your source. In Anass’s case, that source is Meknes, its longest walls, its shop windows of CDs and tapes, its desks carved with bubble letters before the rules arrived. The performance era gave him a spotlight; animation gave him a second language; the street gave him everything else. The archive is alive, and it’s writing itself in Arabic.
