Ghita was born in Marrakech and works mainly there today. She is an illustrator and artist, and she chooses the projects that speak to her heart. Behind the artist name Ghita Abens is Ghita Ait Bensalah.

She has loved drawing for as long as she can remember. As a child, a neighbour her own age introduced her to the magazine WITCH, which had a section on learning to draw, and that gave her passion a real push. At school she would pretend to do her homework, with a stack of paper hidden under her books, and draw whenever she got the chance.

Choosing Applied Arts in high school was a turning point. At the time, art was neither a common major nor taken very seriously, but her mother encouraged her talent when almost no one else did. Ghita went on to study at the École supérieure des arts visuels de Marrakech (ESAV), then earned a PhD, a dream of hers, and discovered that she loves academic research as much as illustration. Today she returns to ESAV from time to time to teach.

Her studio is a simple one, with everything she needs: a laptop, tablets and books. Her ideas come when she travels, goes for a walk or meets people. Her cat is a big part of her creations too, and her mischievous ways help Ghita imagine stories.

She has been part of Agafay Books since day one. She helped create many of its characters and projects, and she now supervises others. She is the artist behind Ushen the fennec fox and his friends: Bellarej the stork, and Stitou the arctic tern, who flies north to discover the life of a family of polar bears. She also drew Ali, the Moroccan boy who loves good food. Her hope for the children who meet them is this: “I hope children who read my books will feel a sense of homeliness for their imagination. A sense of connection and creative stimulation.”