The Creatives Changing Everything

Supercharged by an overwhelming desire for community, understanding and human connection, GQ’s creative class of 2025 are taking things deeper

By Selma Nouri and Hiba Ali

March 5,

Over recent decades, lives across the MENA region have fundamentally changed, as politics, revolution, and migration have all dramatically marked the contemporary landscape. In some places, a people deeply grounded in community have been forced to part ways, encountering immense challenges that fail to discriminate between the tumultuous and the mundane.

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Despite this, there has emerged an overwhelming essence of humanity and character. Something that is embodied by a new generation of creatives who, through art, design, literature, music and more fuel community and power.

From poets to lyricists, artists to multi-hyphenated anthropologists, these people create exciting and engaging work from Jordan to Lebanon, Egypt to the diasporic communities in the US and UK, proving that one of the most powerful forces for change is human connection.

Within all of these people exists a great capacity to make beauty, often in misunderstanding and uncertainty. This is a beauty that is completely unaffected by the mainstream but is, instead, guided entirely by their own personal emotions, empathy, and experiences. Their memories, riddled with both happiness and hardship, have inspired a common thread that is difficult to find anywhere else in the world. Guided by diverse spiritual forces, the creatives on these pages reveal that faith is about so much more than prayer. It involves a reliance on care, creativity, compassion, and connection.

Omar Hamaoui

Poet, London

When the British-Lebanese poet Omar Hamaoui was growing up, he was often told that his dyslexia meant writing would always be a struggle, even though he enjoyed the act of it. “Everything changed when I finally decided to ignore the noise and focus on how writing actually made me feel,” he tells GQ. Poetry became something profoundly personal – a medium to navigate his identity, discover faith, and reconnect with his roots.

While his writing flourished when he moved to Beirut – unveiling part of him that he had repressed in the UK – his journey with poetry actually began after having survived a suicide attempt. “I was living in Los Angeles at the time, and [after an attempt] it’s mandatory to undergo a 12-day psychiatric evaluation before dispatch. That’s where I met my therapist, who encouraged me to begin writing as an outlet.”

Hamaoui published a first book of poems called Saved by the Pen in 2023, but it took him some time to get there. “I was rejected by so many different publishers, yet I kept going and putting my work out there because I knew it had meaning. I write because it brings me peace and allows me to connect with people who might have encountered experiences similar to my own, I really don’t care about the recognition.”

Apart from his poetry, Hamaoui is also the founder of Azkadinya, a community platform seeking to “empower artisans and cultural practices” from across the SWANA region. “My goal is for people to come together and hope for a better day through culture. That is the reason why I do everything – to create community and connect.”

Now, as Hamoui begins to explore music production and rap, he remains faithful in his ability to foster human connection and continue discovering internal peace through poetry.

Georges El Ten

Founder and creative director at creatorandcurator, Dubai

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Georges El Ten’s mission is to transform space. “I want to create experiences,” says the founder of creatorandcurator. “My hope is to inspire and create art through my work.”

Raised in Lebanon, El Ten was instantly drawn to the fields of art and design. Creativity “felt second nature to me,” he says. “I’m a very visual person, constantly coming up with ideas. My friends joke that I always have something to say about any place we enter. I’ll sit and start imagining how I can change things.”

El Ten had been subconsciously preparing for creatorandcurator for some time, as he observed how different cultures thrived. He describes it as a “multidisciplinary creative studio that supports brands in the creation of spatial and design concepts… Both a passion and a life project.”

For a long time, brands in the region have focussed on one-dimensional notions of advertising and sales. However, through his agency, El Ten proves that so much more depth is required in order to truly resonate with audiences across the region and beyond. That’s where the beauty lies – in its artistic and human approach.

Although building a brand of this sort is a risk, El Ten explains that he has always kept notions of faith, as well as his trust in the “power of creating” close to him. “I always say that no problem is ever a real problem for me. I don’t mind facing challenges as long as I am growing and creating new things. It can be tough at times, but, at the end of the day, it is the path that I have chosen, and I love it. I am thankful for all the good people in my life who have helped me along the way. By doing this I help others make their dreams come true, and that is a beautiful energy to be a part of.”

Mohammed Al Mohanna

Illustrator, Kuwait

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“I have been drawing for as long as I can remember,” says Mohammed Al Mohanna. Raised in Kuwait, he has since used art as a means for exploring important themes of faith and culture. “I grew up in a very religious household,” he explains, “where obsessing over illustration or cartoons was honestly a struggle.” Navigating these social and emotional realities has fundamentally shaped the beauty and intellectual depth of his work.

Upon close analysis, it is clear that Al Mohanna draws immense inspiration from the nostalgias of pop culture, as well as Kuwait’s rich tapestry of Islamic aesthetics. His most profound drawings confront questions of both personal and sociopolitical significance while still remaining true to the dream-like quality of his artistry. Last July he revealed a series of illustrations that he had been working on for over a year, which pay tribute to his heritage, as well as his “personal and subdued connections” to Muharram [a holy period of mourning practised by Shia Muslims].

“I would say that my work sits somewhere between creepy and cute,” he explains. Through all the pastel colours and anime-inspired figures, he encourages viewers to think critically about topics ranging from gender equality and religion to the histories of plagiarism in Western media.

Through illustration, Al Mohanna proves the inherent “constructedness” of human difference. His nostalgic drawings manage to communicate histories that often appear too difficult to comprehend. “Cartoons connect everyone,” he says. They are fundamental across cultures, offering key lessons that extend far beyond youth. “At the end of the day, my aim is to simply share my reflections with the world,” he says. “Nothing I create is ever static. If I can communicate even the simplest message with others, then I am fulfilled.”

Idreesi

Singer and actor, Jordan

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You could say that Idreesi’s journey as a musician has been guided by relative notions of faith and trust in the unexpected. “Everything that has happened in my career has felt like some sort of beautiful coincidence,” says the Jordanian-Palestinian singer.

Music came almost by accident. After failing to make it on to a visual art programme, he decided to pursue a degree in theatre. “From the very first semester, I knew that this was where I needed to be,” he says. Through the programme he met Nairuz Ajlouni, who would become one of his greatest allies in the music industry. “Nairuz was really into electronic music. He had a makeshift studio at his place, and, at the time, I had a tendency to write song lyrics whenever I was feeling down. One day, I asked if I could sing him a few of the lyrics. He was impressed and we began working on an EP together. We released it in 2018, and it changed my life forever.”

Around the end of 2019, Idreesi started working on solo material, dropping the albums Loon El Shams in 2020 and Ma7boobi two years later. A number of EPs have followed. As his work continues to gain traction, Idreesi sits within a new wave of indie, electro-pop, and alternative musicians transforming the sonic and lyrical landscape of Arabic music.

“I think remoulding classical sounds and importing personal feelings into a piece of art is immensely powerful,” he says. “It is what connects us as human beings. The most important part of my musical journey is freedom. I am willing to bend the boundaries of genre in order to tell authentic stories. Even lyrically, I refuse to shy away from topics that might be deemed too personal or taboo. There are people out there who need to hear my music. This belief is what keeps me going.”

Nour

Singer, Egypt

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Born and raised in Cairo, the singer leads the charge for a new wave of Arabic music to emerge, one that has fundamentally transformed the sonic identities of the MENA region. “The style of music that I enjoyed listening to didn’t exist in Arabic,” explains nour. “So I just decided to make it myself.”

Veering between hyper-pop and drum & bass, she began releasing original music in 2021, delivering dreamy vocals in both English and Arabic. “I used to mostly sing in English,” she says, “but I realised that there was so much more room for growth and exploration within the region.” A lot of her decisions also had to do with taking ownership of the “beauty and potential” of her own identity, as opposed to simply giving into Western standards.

As nour continues to release new material, she proves that confidence, authenticity, and experimentation can be keys to success. “I really want my songs to be introspective,” she says. “I have found that to be rare in contemporary Arabic music. While a lot of classical songs are filled with poetic and emotionally deep lyrics, contemporary pop ballads are quite one-dimensional. This is why, for most of my career, I have steered clear of love songs. I am kind of sick of them. What if I am not in love right now? As a woman, there are so many alternative feelings and experiences that I believe we can explore through music.”

All that said, last month nour released her first love song. “It is really funny,” she says. “After nearly four years of making music, I felt that it was finally time.” Naturally you should expect the unexpected. In the track she plays with new sonic identities, feelings, and concepts. “I have a lot to unpack,” she says, “but I guess you’ll just have to listen to it and find out.”

Eric Mathieu Ritter

Designer and founder of Emergency Room Beirut, Beirut

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For Eric Mathieu Ritter, fashion is a practical medium for creating change. Born and raised in Beirut, the Lebanese-French designer founded his brand Emergency Room Beirut in 2018, after an emotional trip to Tripoli.

“I was working with an NGO at the time. They had invited me to teach a group of women how to knit, sew, and embroider,” he says. “It was part of a female empowerment programme that sought to increase employment opportunities for women across Lebanon.”

“It was my first time ever travelling to Tripoli, which is quite an impoverished city in the North. Although I had lived in Lebanon for most of my life, I rarely ever visited cities outside of Beirut. I think this had a lot to do with the generational traumas of the civil war, which led the parents of people my age to adopt misconceptions about various parts of the country.”

In Tripoli Ritter discovered great people. Hardworking, passionate people just like those he knew in Beirut. But it was the city’s souks – where any clothes unsold would eventually be thrown in a river or landfill – that would change his life.

“I realised that in Lebanon we had thousands of skilled workers able to sew and design clothing. Yet, so many materials were going to waste. This inspired me to create Emergency Room Beirut, a brand focussed on supporting both sustainability and the economy in Lebanon by transforming leftover, second-hand clothing into desirable pieces. It truly emerged from an urgent need to alleviate the suffering of Lebanese people, and support the growing needs of the planet.”

Saphe Shamoun

Anthropologist, DJ, curator, New York City

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Syrian-born Saphe Shamoun moved to the US via Beirut at the age of 23 and, as the co-founder of Laylit, a collective celebrating music and artists from across the SWANA region, he pushes the boundaries of what it means to be a creative.

In 2018, Shamoun and two of his close friends – Nadim Maghzal and Philippe Manasseh – created the music collective, which has now hosted dozens of parties across the US and Canada. But it wasn’t quite plain sailing.

“It was really difficult,” says Shamoun. “At the time, there were very few underground DJs, let alone collectives, dedicated to the SWANA region – especially in the US. It took us a while to even find a venue that was willing to host one of our parties. Most of them didn’t think that the project would bring any revenue. Finally, an underground spot in Brooklyn booked us a slot – Wednesdays at 7pm. From there everything took off. Since then we have managed to inspire many to come out and celebrate the SWANA culture with us. It has truly been amazing.”

Shamoun and his co-founders are committed to creating a “nostalgia for the future,” not the past. “I think the experience of being in a club is really interesting,” he says. “It is a space for sonic experimentation or creating sounds that speak to a particular moment in time. Through clubs, cultural communities and conversations emerge, all from within a space of creativity and diversity.”

Regardless of whether Shamoun is working in music or academia – he is currently in the sixth year of a PhD in anthropology at Columbia University – he is fuelled by a sense of faith in the power of listening. “In everything I do, that is my task,” he says. “To understand the sounds and silences that are created through time and figure out how they can be connected.”

Mashael Alsaie

Multimedia artist, Jeddah

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If you ask Bahraini artist Mashael Alsaie about her work, the conversation will move pretty quickly towards myths and stories. It’ll focus on imagined and physical spaces, and how they inform her understanding of, well, almost everything.

“I feel a deep connection to the land,” she says. “Such as where you’re from, the people, personal histories and the land as a heroine. Not in a feminine or masculine context, but more like a caretaker, a motherly figure.”

Alsaie’s journey as an artist was deeply influenced by her close-knit family, and she credits her sister as an early inspiration. “Having creativity around me from a young age allowed me to nurture my art and self expression. Also things like where the line is drawn for an artist? I often pick up a new medium and see where it takes me. I do a little bit of everything, even writing lately.”

Faith and introspection are integral to Alsaie’s work, with Islam and spirituality interwoven into her personal life and artistic practice.

One of her most compelling explorations involves the female body, which came after being inspired by ultrasound imagery. The visuals, she explains, reveal our internal “landscapes,” something she explored in her debut solo exhibition in Kuwait, Gentle Porosity, examining the connection between the body and natural landscapes, and how humans interact with both.

Alsaie is inspired by indigenous cultures’ deep respect for nature and notes that, even in an Islamic context, humans have long altered landscapes, often replacing the sacred with the artificial and diminishing natural abundance. Her work highlights this tension, particularly the loss of natural springs or fertile land – elements that hold stories of their own.

“The land tells us stories,” she says, “and when we meddle too much with it, those stories risk being lost.”