Born in 1960 in the Fès-Meknès region, Farid Zahi studied philosophy before obtaining a postgraduate degree in Arabic studies and Islamic civilisations and a doctorate in literature from the Sorbonne. Since 1977, he has published books in Arabic and French on the body, image, and contemporary art, including: Le Corps, le sacré et l’image en Islam (1999), d’Un regard l’autre: l’art et ses médiations, Le Corps de l’autre (2009), Les Métamorphoses de l’image (2015), La fascination des sens (2018),Les plis de l’image (2021).
Zahi has translated French and Maghreb authors into Arabic (J. Derrida, J. Kristéva, R. Debray, M. Mafesoli, H. Corbin, J. Rancière, A. Khatibi, R. Triki, D. Le Breton, Montaigne, etc.). He was awarded the Moroccan Prize for Translation and the Sharjah Prize for Arab Art Studies.
Zahi was artistic advisor to Bank al-Maghrib (2012– 2016) and director of the IURS (2015– 2019) and is currently a researcher at Med V University in Rabat.
