Sophia Al-Maria has been named as the recipient of the Frieze London Artist Award for 2025.
The London-based multidisciplinary artist will perform a comedy stand-up set entitled Wall Based Work (a Trompe LOL) for the first time during the Frieze London fair, from 15 to 19 October 2025 in Regent’s Park.
Commissioned by Frieze, Al-Maria’s new performance work was selected by a jury composed of leading figures in the art industry: Lydia Yee, Melanie Pocock, Eva Langret and Chris Rawcliffe. The performance sits on the cusp of two genres, part-séance, part-comedy set, and will take place inside a temporary stand-up club inside the larger Frieze London tent.
The theme of the 2025 Frieze Artist Award, Future Commons, encourages artists to investigate the concept of community and the meaning of similarity. Im Youngzoo, the recipient of the Frieze Seoul Artist Award, will delve into the subject by examining the common aspects of soothing behaviours in humans and animals. Al-Maria’s performance will utilise comical language to engage with themes that may not be typically humorous, as the artist taps into the communal psyche to explore mutual worries and fears, among them the very nature of creative work and the vulnerability and exposure that it entails.
Al-Maria, whose work engages with alternative futures, the potency of myths and storytelling, as well as finding new ways of engaging with history, has been featured at the Gwangju Biennale, the New Museum and Whitney Museum in New York, the Venice Biennale and Tate Britain, among other exhibitions and projects.
The Artist Award, which is partnered with Forma for the seventh year running and bestowed upon early to mid-career artists, is a central element in Frieze’s artist-led programming. The award allows the opportunity for these artists to showcase a new commission during Frieze fairs, often at a decisive moment in their career. Previous recipients of the award include Lawrence Lek, Adham Faramawy, Abbas Zahedi, Sung Tieu, Alberta Whittle and Himali Singh Soin.
In partnership with Deutsche Bank, Frieze London – which coincides with Frieze Masters – will gather more than 280 galleries from 45 countries, further emphasising the British capital’s key role as a worldwide hub for fostering artistic exchange and creativity.
Eva Langret (Director, Frieze EMEA) said: “In partnership with Forma, we are proud to continue supporting artist-centred programming. This year, Sophia Al-Maria’s new performance offers a comedic detour for Frieze London audiences, with a live show staged in a ‘drop-down’ comedy club. Her debut stand-up promises a collective experience exploring vulnerability, creativity, shared anxieties and LOLs.”
