Sophia Al-Maria, winner of the 2025 Frieze London Artist Award, is performing a stand-up routine titled *Wall-Based Work* (2025) daily at the fair. Her act blends humor and serious topics, from art world bureaucracy and the Gaza conflict to being mansplained to by Robert De Niro, and includes karaoke and an editioned work benefiting the LGBTQ+ asylum charity Micro Rainbow.
This performance matters because it subverts traditional art forms and the commercial context of an art fair, using stand-up as an accessible, low-cost medium to address political and social issues. Al-Maria’s award and platform at Frieze London highlight how major fairs increasingly embrace unconventional, participatory works that engage audiences beyond the gallery booth.