The history of Leila El-Kayem takes us onto an International journey; Carrying German and Lebanese blood, being an American born in New Zealand and growing up in London and Montreal spreads her background onto 4 different continents.
After graduating in Design Art in Montreal she moved to Berlin to dive into the world of art installation, product and graphic design and overall media at the side of Cornelius Mangold (Superclub/GDR souvenir project), Springer & Jacoby, Playstation, adidas and Reebok. And because those disciplines weren’t enough, she continued with illustrating, creating logos and imagery for music, culture & communication clients. Leila was part of the “1000 10 1″ charity project held in Berlin back in December 2009, in which 10 friends created 1000 art pieces which were sold on 1 event to raise funds for a Children’s Hospice in Berlin.
The first time we heard about her was through her exhibition at BOLD Room, one of our favorite locations in Berlin-Mitte. We received an invitation containing a few seeds, a drawing of a tree and a short text shouting out “The Tree Story“. Leila now drew trees. Not some random boring ones, but actually those carrying a message in every branch and every root. The anecdotal black & white drawings not only show a tree but more a glimpse into her thoughts and detailed views on contemporary influences and issues. Also these were linked to a social action, since with each tree sold “Trees for Cities” would plant one in a city across the globe.
Leila has now moved to New York to pursue her career as a creative and we couldn’t wish her more luck in that than by taking her into our “Artist of the Month” history. She even drew an exclusive tree for eVe (title picture)- thX & eVeLuV Leila!
