Hassan Hourani studied in Iraq at the College of Fine Art in Baghdad, graduating in 1997. In 1999, Hourani participated in Darat al Funun's Summer Academy under the supervision of Marwan.

In 2001, he moved to live and work in New York. In 2002 he exhibited at the Williamsburg Art and Historical Gallery, New York. In conjunction with the exhibition he conducted a collaborative drawing project "One Day for One Night".

On 6 August 2003, Hassan Hourani drowned near the port of Jaffa.

In 2004, the A.M. Qattan Foundation published Hassan's unfinished project "Hassan Everywhere", and established an Award for young artists in his memory. "Hassan Everywhere" won one of ten children book prizes in Cairo International Book Fair in 2009.