Touria El Glaoui is the Founding Director of the leading international art fair, 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, which takes place biannually in London and New York. Born and raised in Morocco, El Glaoui completed her education in New York before beginning a career in the banking industry as a wealth management consultant. After 10 years she relocated to London, where prior to initiating 1:54 in 2013, she occupied various business development positions in the Telecom/IT industry in the Middle East and Africa.
Parallel to her career, Touria has organised and co-curated exhibitions of her father’s work, Moroccan artist Hassan El Glaoui in London and Morocco. She has spoken widely and chaired numerous discussions on contemporary African art and women in leadership at international organisations. In 2016, Touria El Glaoui was listed amongst the 100 most powerful women in Africa by Forbes; amongst the 50 most powerful women in Africa by Jeune Afrique in 2015; and the 100 most influential Africans in business by NewAfrican in 2013.