ARB, MA (Hons) Arch, Dip Arch
Sofia Karim has practiced architecture for over 20 years at studios including Norman Foster’s in London and Peter Eisenman’s in New York. Her practice combines architecture, visual art, and activism.
The incarceration of her uncle, photographer and activist Shahidul Alam, led to the development of her theories on an Architecture of Disappearance. She explores architecture as a language of struggle and resistance.
Her activism focuses on human rights across Bangladesh and India. She campaigns for the release of political prisoners. She is the founder of Turbine Bagh, a joint artists’ movement against fascism and authoritarianism and platform for political art and activism.
She was a finalist for the Jameel Prize in 2021. She has exhibited at galleries and museums including Tate Modern (London), V&A (London), Rubin Museum (NY), Arthshila Ahmedebad (India) and as part of Documenta 15 (Steidl/ Kunsthaus Göttingen).
Her work has been presented at Harvard University, Cambridge University, UC Santa Cruz, and featured in publications including The Observer, The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Architectural Review, The Art Newspaper and British Journal of Photography. She has appeared on BBC World News, Channel 4 News, Al Jazeera and Sky News.
She lectures on architecture and is a visiting critic at Westminster school of Architecture. In November 2023 she set up Architects for Palestine / Tragic Turn, an initiative which raises funds for Gaza by offering architectural design advice.
