Sokari Douglas Camp was born in Buguma, a Kalabari town in the Niger Delta. She was raised by her brother-in-law, the anthropologist Robin Horton and she studied art at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California (1979-80). Sokari later earned her BA at the Central School of Art and Design (1980-83), London, and her MA from the Royal College of Art (1983-6)

Sokari Douglas Camp 's work is predominately sculpted in steel and characteristically takes inspiration from her Kalibari heritage, as well as drawing on other aspects of African culture.

Sokari has worked with the Smithsonian and the British Museums, and her work is in their permanent collections. Her sculptures are also held in other museum collections in Europe, Britain and Japan and in numerous private collections throughout the world. She has exhibited internationally in galleries, including in Austria, Britain, Cuba, France, Germany, Holland, Japan, Sicily, South Africa, Spain, the USA.

Among her notable solo shows are: Spirits in Steel - The Art of the Kalabari Masquerade at the American Museum of Natural History, New York (1998-9) and Imagined Steel at The Lowry Arts Centre, Manchester, which toured to the Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno; Brewery Art Centre, Cirencester; and Derby Museum and Art Gallery (2002-03). She has been awarded many commissions for public memorial sculptures, most notably the "Living Memorial" to Ken Saro-Wiwa.

In 2003 Sokari 's proposal 'NO-O-War No-O-War-R' was shortlisted for Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth.

Sokari was the recipient of a bursary from the Henry Moore Foundation, as well as being honored as a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2005 Honours List.