Laïla Mestari is an artist born in Morocco and living in Montreal, Canada. Anchored in a compositional logic of collage and assemblage, her work with textiles, drawing, video and print media explores notions of cultural hybridity and rerooting. Probing personal and collective expressions of Québécois and Maghrebi identity, she creates surreal images combining domestic objects, cultural icons, displaced figures, and elements of the land. Through meticulously crafted surfaces and roughly cut-out shapes, she translates and transforms what captivates or concerns her about her cultural identity.

      Mestari holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2023) where she was awarded the Joan Livingstone Merit Scholarship and the Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Société et culture (FRQSC). Her work has been supported by the Canada Art Council and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and has been shown at the UCLA New Wight Biennial, Los Angeles; the John David Mooney Foundation, Chicago; the Images Festival, Toronto; Espacio Pinea, Spain; VU, Quebec City, and at Dazibao, Projet Casa, Art Mûr, and La Central Galerie Powerhouse in Montreal, among other places. Mestari's work is part of the permanent collections the Musée National des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ) and the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (MAC), of the Canada Council Art Bank, the RBC Collection and many other private collections. In 2024, Mestari is a finalist for the Pierre-Ayot Award (AGAC).