Leah Weinstein is grateful to live and work on unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ territories, also known as Vancouver, BC. She grew up on Vancouver Island in unceded K’ómoks territory with homesteading, settler parents where she spent considerable time in the forest, investigating the living shapes and textures of the coastal terrain. Later, as a student and a tree planter, she experienced an itinerant lifestyle with a roving troupe of forestry workers. Her artistic practice is rooted in these experiences of creating temporary structures and makeshift communities. Through this work she investigates connections between material culture and the social ideals of a larger collective. Using everyday objects and readymade materials to create sculpture, drawings, textiles and performance, she examines relationships between individuals and collectives/ action and display.

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Leah has taught and mentored students at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Simon Fraser University, LaSalle College Vancouver, Visual College of Art + Design Vancouver and Kootenay School of the Arts, Selkirk College. Her work has been supported by Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, Banff Centre, Touchstones Nelson Museum of Art and History, and City of Richmond Public Art Commissions. Her professional experience includes designing costumes for contemporary theatre and dance companies, and she completed a Master of Fine Arts from Emily Carr University of Art + Design.

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