‘It was the cheapest possible art form I could imagine’: Sophia Al-Maria performs stand-up for Frieze London

Sophia Al-Maria, the winner of this year’s Frieze London Artist Award, gave a freewheeling stand-up routine with a twist at the fair on Wednesday. “I am not a performance artist—I am doing this because it was the cheapest possible art form I could imagine,” she joked. Her often-serious act touched on topics ranging from chasing art world invoices, to the assault on Gaza, to being mansplained to by Robert De Niro. There were promises of karaoke—and invitations to purchase an editioned work, proceeds of which will go to Micro Rainbow, a charity supporting LGBTQ+ asylum seekers. Wall-Based Work (2025) will be performed daily at Frieze London, on Thursday at 3pm, Friday at 4.30pm, Saturday at 3pm and Sunday at 4.30pm.