Talk: Excavating Carmen, with Wu Tsang and Sophia Al-Maria

Sophia Al-Maria is an artist, writer, and filmmaker. She grew up between the United States and Qatar before moving to Egypt to study comparative literature at the American University in Cairo. She next completed a graduate degree in aural and visual cultures at Goldsmiths, London. An interdisciplinary artist, her work has been shown in various international exhibitions, most recently including: Not My Bag, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, USA (2023); Beast Type Song, GARAGE, Moscow (2021); taraxos, Serpentine x Modern Forms Sculpture Commission, London (2021);  and Bitch Omega, Julia Stoschek, Dusseldorf, Germany (2020. Sophia’s moving memoir The Girl Who Fell To Earth was published by Harper Perennial in 2012. Her writing has also appeared in publications including Harper’s Magazine and Bidoun.

Wu Tsang is an award-winning filmmaker and performance artist. Her works explore hidden histories, marginalized narratives, and the act of performing itself. Within her deeply collaborative practice, she frequently partners with the performance group she co-founded in 2016 with artist Tosh Basco, known as Moved by the Motion. Wu Tsang’s work has been presented at museums, biennials, and film festivals internationally. In the Netherlands Hartwig Art Foundation and Holland Festival presented Wu Tsang’s latest performance works– MOBY DICK; or, The Whale (2022) and Carmen (2024)– both co-commissioned by  Hartwig Art Foundation.