Dr Sonya Dyer

Staff details

Position

Fine Art

Department

Art

Email

Sonya.Dyer (@gold.ac.uk)

Links

Website
sonyadyerstudio.com

Sonya's work and research reimagines where the centre is located in fictional narratives of the future.

Dr Sonya Dyer works primarily in moving-image, sound and sculpture.

Dyer’s practice explores where the centre is located in fictional narratives of the future. Her research considers the current and forthcoming poly-crisis (ecological, migratory, economic), through the lens of speculative fiction. How we can create an anti-colonial, generative way of living together, for humans and non humans alike and how do we claim the imaginative space to create it?

Academic qualifications

PhD 2021
Whitney Museum of American Art: Independent Study Program 2013
BA Fine Art, Goldsmiths College, University of London

Teaching and supervision

I am a lecturer on the BA Fine Art and MFA Fine Art courses.

PhD candidates
Danielle Smith (completed)
Sula Douglas Folkes
Damali Ibreck

Research interests

Futurity, Black Futures, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, the reproductive capabilities of Darkness, Global Futurities, Black Feminism, Poly crisis, Post Scarcity, Ecological Fiction, moving image, sculpture, text.

Grants and awards

2024: Arts Council England - DYCP

2021: Arts Foundation Futures Award (Finalist)

2019: Arts Council England Project Grant

Publications and research outputs

Show/Exhibition

hybrida composita Dyer, Sonya . 2025. hybrida composita. In: "hybrida composita", The Box, Plymouth, United Kingdom, 4 March - 7 September 2025.
We Have Reach Dyer, Sonya . 2025. We Have Reach. In: "We Have Reach", Usdan Gallery, Bennington, Vermont, United States, 25 February - 27 April 2025.
The Ready Room Dyer, Sonya . 2024. The Ready Room. In: "The Ready Room", Primary, Nottingham, United Kingdom, 26 January - 30 March 2024.

Three Parent Child Dyer, Sonya . 2023. Three Parent Child. In: "Three Parent Child", River Rooms, Somerset House, United Kingdom, 2023.
The London Open 2022 Dyer, Sonya . 2022. The London Open 2022. In: "The London Open 2022", Whitechapel Gallery, London, United Kingdom, 30 June - 4 September 2022.
Whitstable Biennial Dyer, Sonya . 2022. Whitstable Biennial. In: "Whitstable Biennial", Horsebridge Arts Centre, Whitstable, United Kingdom, 11 - 19 June 2022.
Directions: Forward Dyer, Sonya . 2022. Directions: Forward. In: "Directions: Forward", KARST, Plymouth, United Kingdom, 14 January – 12 February 2022.
Temporary Compositions Dyer, Sonya . 2021. Temporary Compositions. In: "Temporary Compositions", Gallery 31, Somerset House, London, United Kingdom, 12 November 2021 - 20 March 2022.
Art Night Dyer, Sonya . 2021. Art Night. In: "Art Night", Somerset House, London, United Kingdom, 13 July 2021.
Thirteen Ways Of Looking Dyer, Sonya . 2020. Thirteen Ways Of Looking. In: "Thirteen Ways Of Looking", Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry, United Kingdom, 2 October - 13 December 2020.
Rewriting the Future Dyer, Sonya . 2019. Rewriting the Future. In: "Rewriting the Future", Site Gallery, Sheffield, United Kingdom, 27 September 2019 - 2 February 2020.
Decolonizing Appearance Dyer, Sonya . 2018. Decolonizing Appearance. In: "Decolonizing Appearance", CAMP / Center for Art on Migration Politics, Copenhagen, Denmark, 21 September 2018 - 30 March 2019.
Or, Dark Fecundity Dyer, Sonya . 2018. Or, Dark Fecundity. In: "Or, Dark Fecundity", Center for Afrofuturist Studies, Iowa City, United States, 10 November 2018.
The Claudia Jones Space Station Dyer, Sonya . 2017. The Claudia Jones Space Station. In: "The Claudia Jones Space Station", BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Arts & The New Bridge Project, Gateshead, United Kingdom, 16 - 19 November 2017.
Paul Robeson Research Station Dyer, Sonya . 2011. Paul Robeson Research Station. In: "Paul Robeson Research Station", Site Gallery, Sheffield, United Kingdom, 2 - 19 February 2011.

Conference or Workshop Item

Creative resistance for feminist survival at Feminist Centre for Racial Justice Dyer, Sonya . 2025. 'Creative resistance for feminist survival at Feminist Centre for Racial Justice'. In: Creative resistance for feminist survival. Feminist Centre for Racial Justice, United Kingdom 25 March 2025.
Building Beyond: Space Architecture, Engineering and Design Dyer, Sonya ; and Imhof, Barbara. 2022. 'Building Beyond: Space Architecture, Engineering and Design'. In: Building Beyond: Space Architecture, Engineering and Design. Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, United Kingdom 9 March 2022.
RELAY Dyer, Sonya . 2021. 'RELAY'. In: RELAY. Venice Architecture Biennale, Italy 16 - 17 July 2021.

Art Object

hybrida composita Dyer, Sonya . 2024. hybrida composita.

Article

Permanence and Change Ghalidai, Ashish; and Dyer, Sonya . 2025. Permanence and Change. 20/20,
The Many Masks of Michael Jackson: What Does Iconography of the King of Pop Mean in 2018? Dyer, Sonya . 2018. The Many Masks of Michael Jackson: What Does Iconography of the King of Pop Mean in 2018? Frieze, ISSN 0962-0672
Claudette Johnson (Review) Dyer, Sonya . 2018. Claudette Johnson (Review). Frieze(193), p. 181. ISSN 0962-0672

Book Section

The Think Tank: Institution as Performance Dyer, Sonya . 2020. The Think Tank: Institution as Performance. In: Laura Cull Ó Maoilearca and Alice Lagaay, eds. The Routledge Companion to Performance Philosophy. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 272-279. ISBN 9781138495623

Film/Video

Portals (2024) Dyer, Sonya ; and Soloman, Rivers. 2024. Portals (2024).
Portals Dyer, Sonya ; and Solomon, Rivers. 2024. Portals.

Professional Activity

Saari Residency Dyer, Sonya . 2025. Saari Residency.
Arts Council England, Developing your Creative Practice (DYCP) 2024 Dyer, Sonya . 2024. Arts Council England, Developing your Creative Practice (DYCP) 2024.
Launch Pad LaB - Spotlight: Dr Sonya Dyer Dyer, Sonya . 2024. Launch Pad LaB - Spotlight: Dr Sonya Dyer.

Project

Kings X Somerset House Studios, Collaborative Research Fund Dyer, Sonya ; and Grubbe, Jeffrey. 2022 Kings X Somerset House Studios, Collaborative Research Fund.

Thesis

Towards Dark Fecundity - Reimagining Black futures through visual arts practice, science fiction and Greek mythology Dyer, Sonya . 2021. Towards Dark Fecundity - Reimagining Black futures through visual arts practice, science fiction and Greek mythology. Doctoral thesis, Middlesex University

Other

Cover Image, Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction, Vol 50.2, Number 139 (Decolonising Science Fiction) Dyer, Sonya . 2021. Cover Image, Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction, Vol 50.2, Number 139 (Decolonising Science Fiction). Science Fiction Foundation.