Frieze London Awards Prize to Sophia Al-Maria

Qatari-born artist wins top honour

London’s prestigious Frieze Art Fair has just announced the winner of its 2025 Frieze London Artist Award, and this year the winner is Qatari London-based artist Sophia Al-Maria.

The prize is awarded in partnership with Forma and offers the opportunity to realise an ambitious new commission at Frieze London to an early or mid-career artist. For this year’s edition of Frieze London - which will take place between 15 and 19 October 2025 - Al-Maria will present a comedy show inside the Frieze London tent. Titled “Wall Based Work (a Trompe LOL), the work was conceived in response to this year’s Frieze Artist Award theme of “future commons.” Through the work, Al-Maria will use comedy as a medium to talk about things that aren’t necessarily funny.

“It’s the last honest art form”, she says, “Stand-up requires presence.” There is no artificial intelligence involved, just a bare comedy-club stage on which Al-Maria will perform alone, to provide a collective experience with her audience.

The Qatari born artist describes herself and living and labouring in London and has worked across multiple media forms, including drawing, sculpture, collage and film. She is interested in the power of storytelling, myth and imagining revisionist histories and alternative futures. We can’t wait to see what she produces in October.