Sophia Al Maria

Who is Sophia Al Maria?

Sophia Al Maria is an artist, writer, and filmmaker. She studied comparative literature at the American University in Cairo, and aural and visual cultures at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her work has been exhibited at the Gwangju Biennale, the New Museum in New York, and the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. Her writing has appeared in Harper's Magazine, Five Dials, Triple Canopy, and Bidoun.

She works a great deal with the concept of "Gulf Futurism". This concept was discussed by Bruce Sterling in two of his columns in Wired magazine. He writes of her "There needs to be an exclusive first-class purdah lounge somewhere, where people like Sophia Al-Maria can hang out because they’re too gifted, intelligent and interesting to be exposed to the actual Internet."

Her memoir The Girl Who Fell To Earth was published by HarperCollins on November 27, 2012.