Sumayya Vally is founder and principal of Counterspace, an architecture and research practice searching for expression for hybrid identities and territory, particularly for African and Islamic conditions—both rooted and diasporic. Vally been recognised as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and is Time 100 Next list honoree. She sits on several boards, including the World Monuments Fund and is interested in supporting new networks of knowledge in the arts. Vally designed the 20th Serpentine Pavilion in London, making her the youngest architect to receive the commission. She was the artistic director of the inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Vally has been praised for putting forth a decolonial definition of Islamic art, one that is resonant with the lived and embodied practices and experiences of the Islamic world. Practising adjacent to the academy, Vally has received numerous awards and institutional honours for her contributions to the field, including an Honorary Professorship from University College London and a gold medal from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.