Leila Refahi is an artist, researcher, and educator, born and raised in Iran, based in Toronto. Through painting, installations, and digital media, she creates immersive art experiences for her audiences. Her work addresses environmental and social issues, delving into topics such as environmental racism, animal extinction, and climate change.
As an optimistic environmentalist inspired by nature’s resilience, she uses playful yet incisive compositions to illuminate the realities of environmental degradation and its social implications.
She holds a Master’s in Art Education from Concordia University (2021) and a bachelor’s and master’s in Painting from Azad Art University in Tehran, Iran. Her portfolio includes seven solo exhibitions and participation in over 60 group exhibitions worldwide.
For Leila, art is a way of communicating with people in society. Her participatory projects have been conducted in Canada, Iran, Germany, and Finland. Her latest project, “There Is Something to be Seen,” engaged 126 people globally and received recognition from Concordia University and Centre Culture George Vanier.
Education
2021 MA. Art Education, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
2010 MA. Painting, Azad Art University, Tehran, Iran
2007 BA. Painting, Azad Art University, Tehran, Iran
Awards and Honors
2023 Newcomer Arts Award, Toronto Arts Foundation, Canada
2022 Akin Space Award, Toronto Arts Foundation, Canada
Newcomer Mentorship Award, Toronto Arts Council, Canada. Mentor: Ghazaleh Avarzamani,
Artvolt Mentorship Award, Concordia University, Canada. Mentor: Marc Seguin
2021 Newcomer Arts Award, Toronto Arts Foundation, Toronto, Canada
Bourse Concordia-CCGV, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
2019 Graduate Students Entrance Award, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
2018-19 Artist of the Day, Artists for Conservation Group, Vancouver, Canada
2017 Art Factory Malakta Artist Residency, Malax, Finland
Finalist of Golden Turtle Festival, Russia
2015 Finalist of Pars Online festival and selected artist by the public, Tehran, Iran
Solo Exhibitions
2023 Roots, Mitfar Art Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2021 The Resilient Gaze, Georges-Vanier Gallery, Montreal, Canada
2017 The Messenger, Malakta Art Factory, Malax, Finland
2015 Suspend Life, Anahita Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2013 View Less, Vali Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2012 Afternoon Tea with Madame De Beauvoir, Vali Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2011 Walking on Uphill, Vali Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Installation and Participatory Projects
2023 A Nest for Nature, Orchard Pavilion, Toronto Ontario
2020 There is something to be seen, Montreal, Canada
2019 The Messenger, Montreal, Quebec
Birds’ Farm:
2019 Mahdoone Art Institute, Yazd, Iran
2018 Damoun nature school, Tehran, Iran
2017 Public Park, Ingolstadt, Germany
Merenkurkku School, Vaasa, Finland
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023 Cedar Ridge Artists Annual Exhibition, Cedar Ridge Studio Gallery, Toronto Ontario
Cedar Ridge Instructors Exhibition, Cedar Ridge Studio Gallery, Toronto Ontario
2022 Akin group exhibition, Clarks Arts Centre, Toronto, Canada 2021 What is Art For? Curated by Kathleen Vaughan, Montreal, Canada Walk by, Outdoor public exhibition, Jersey, USA
The Sketch of Survival, OXO Gallery, London, England
2020 Re- an exhibition by ArtEGs Art Collective, HPG Gallery, Montreal, Canada
International Exhibit of Nature Art, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, USA
2019 International Postcard Exhibition, INSEA World Congress, Vancouver, Canada
Silent Skies tour exhibition, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, USA
The Sketch of Survival, touring exhibition, London, Norwich, Yorkshire, New York
Artists for Conservation, Van Dusen Botanical Garden, Vancouver, Canada
Lanwan Art Festival, Lanwan Art Museum, Qingdao, China
2018 Luka, Aas Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Boom- Vista Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
6th International Art for Peace Exhibition, Pardis Cinema Complex, Tehran, Iran
Silent Skies, Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, Canada
2017 Soul of the Desert, Art Center Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Artists for Conservation, Van Dusen Botanical Garden, Vancouver, Canada
Burning Art, Art Factory Malakta, Malax, Finland
Golden Turtle- Expo Center on Krasnaya Presnya, Moscow, Russia
2016 5th Iran International Green Film Biennale- Saba Cultural Institute, Iran
This House, Iranshahr Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2015 Standing in Nothingness, Anahita Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Pars Online, Ass Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2014 Eco.ho.sis, Shirin Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
You Are Grown-up Now, Hoor Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2013 Tehran, Seyhoun Art Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
2012 Young Persian Artists, Paul Richard Cultural Building, Lyon, France
2011 Four Generations of Iranian Artist, Iranica Encyclopedia, New York, USA
2004-10 Date with the Subject, Sazmanab Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Sixteen Contemporary Women Artists of Iran, Mekic Art Gallery, Montreal, Canada
8th and 7th Annual Drawing Exhibition, Atashzad Gallery, Tehran, Iran
100 Artists 100 Artworks, Golestan Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Talks and Lectures
2021-24 Cedar Ridge creative centre, Art teacher, Toronto, Canada
Toronto School of Art, Art teacher, Toronto, Canada
Artbarn School, Art teacher, Toronto, Canada
2022-23 Toronto public libraries, Art for youth workshops, North York, Canada
2022 Artists for Ecocide Law, online round table, Finland
Wee Festival, Early Childhood Educator Professional Development Workshop, Toronto 2021 Graduate Symposium in the Department of Education (GSDE), Concordia University, Canada
2020 International Symposium of Artful Inquiry Research Group (AIRG), McGill University, Canada
2019-21 Concordia University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Teaching assistant, Montreal, Canada
2017 Merenkurkun School, Artist Talk, Vaasa, Finland
Malakta Art Factory, Artist Talk, Malax, Finland
Roodehen University of Art, Lecturer, Faculty of Fine Arts, Lecturer, Tehran, Iran
2016 Photocopy Artists Collective, Artist Talk, Tehran, Iran
2011-17 Art and Architecture University, Lecturer, Faculty of Fine Arts, Lecturer, Tehran, Iran
Published Works
2022 Art as a Vector for Environmental Awareness, smart magazine, Issue 10. Toronto, Canada 2022 Re-imagine Connections with Natural Environment Through Socially Engaged Art. Chapter 10, Making Connections in and Through Arts-based Educational Research, SpringerBriefs, Canada.
Art for Environmental Consciousness, Three Artists Activating Art in the Fight against Climate
Change, Smart Magazine, Volume 10, Toronto, Canada
2021 Resilient Gaze, Æ Graduate Journal of Art Education, Volume 1. Concordia University,
Montreal, Canada
