Painting the weight of what goes unsaid.
Alma Leya is a Bangladeshi born, New York based artist and curator working across drawing, painting, installation, and mixed media, building emotionally resonant works around the human journey, womanhood, and memory.
Discover the practiceEvery piece begins as a question the studio hasn't answered yet.
Working in charcoal, ink, and gold leaf, Leya has developed a distinctive style since moving from Dhaka to New York in 2013, earning recognition from critics, curators, and audiences across the city. Each series is a way of sitting with a feeling long enough to understand its shape.
Studio practice
An evolving body of paintings and mixed media works in charcoal, ink, and gold leaf, built slowly and shown selectively across New York.
Exhibitions
From the breakthrough solo show Progression through Pandemic to recent exhibitions like Emancipation: The Rise of Womanhood, the work has traveled through New York, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and beyond.
Curatorial work
As curator of the Visual Voice Program at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Leya has organized major shows including Memoir, featuring 35 Bengali artists.
Alma Leya
Alma Leya, in the studio
“The work is less about resolution, more about staying with a feeling long enough to see what it's made of.”Working across drawing, painting, installation, and mixed media, Alma Leya creates emotionally resonant works that explore the human journey, the strength of womanhood, identity, memory, and the unspoken emotions that shape everyday life.
Born and raised in Bangladesh, Leya earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Craft from the University of Dhaka before moving to the United States in 2013 in pursuit of broader artistic opportunities. Working primarily in charcoal, ink, and gold leaf, she has developed a distinctive style that has earned recognition from critics and audiences alike.
Her first solo exhibition in New York, Progression through Pandemic, opened in October 2021 and examined the psychological and emotional transformations people experienced during that uncertain time, highlighting the resilience and hidden potential many discovered along the way. Since then, her work has appeared in group exhibitions across Bangladesh, Bhutan, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Georgia, alongside recent solo presentations including Phenomenology: Dream vs Reality and Emancipation: The Rise of Womanhood.
Alongside her studio practice, Leya curates the Visual Voice Program at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning and organized Memoir, one of New York's largest exhibitions of Bengali artists, featuring 35 contributors. Two of her large scale public works, inspired by Bangladeshi folklore, are permanently installed in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2025, she completed a solo residency on Governors Island titled Between River and Harbour: Stories That Carry Us, exploring migration, belonging, and shared human experience through live painting and installation.
A registered artist with the New York Foundation for the Arts, Leya has received scholarships and grants recognizing her artistic excellence, along with the Diva Award for Career of Art and Impact in 2025. She also served as a volunteer judge for the JFK Terminal 6 Community Art Program. Today, she continues building cultural bridges between Bangladesh and the United States through her art and curatorial leadership.
Services
Paintings & mixed media
New work developed in charcoal, ink, and gold leaf across canvas, paper, and mixed media, built in layers over many weeks around a recurring set of emotional questions.
- Original paintings & drawings
- Mixed media & installation pieces
- Private commissions by inquiry
Exhibitions & public art
The work travels through gallery exhibitions, public installations, and artist residencies, most recently a solo residency on Governors Island and permanent public works in Cleveland, Ohio.
- Group & solo exhibitions
- Public art installations
- Studio visits by appointment
Curatorial projects
As curator of the Visual Voice Program at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Leya organizes exhibitions that create opportunities for underrepresented artists, particularly women and the Bengali community.
- Curated group exhibitions
- Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning programming
- Panel judging & community art programs
Every inquiry, whether a commission, an exhibition, or a curatorial collaboration, starts with a short conversation about the work you have in mind.
Start a conversationContact
Let's talk about the work.
Whether it's a commission, an exhibition opportunity, or a question about the practice, the best way to reach the studio is by email, and every message gets a personal reply.
Email Usleya@almafleya.com
Studio & service area
New York, NY
Response time
Within 2 to 3 business days