LEYLA MAHAT has a PhD in Fine Art and is Associate professor of Painting and sculpture  department , Art Faculty, Kazakh National University of Arts, Astana, Kazakhstan. She is also Head of the Contemporary Art Center Kulanshi in the Palace of Peace and Accord, Astana, Kazakhstan and of Forte Bank Kulanshi art space, Astana, Kazakhstan. Leyla is also Founder of the “Eurasian Academy of Arts”, Astana, Kazakhstan and Vienna, Austria. She is the recipient of several awards, including the State Award “Medal – 20 years of Independence” for the contribution to the culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Franz Kafka medal, Prague, Czech Republic and the European award for artistic and cultural activities – Golden Europea, European platter, Prague, Czech Republic. She is a Honorary Member of the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague, Czech Republic, 2003.

Her work appears in several museums around the world, including Kazakhstan, Turkey, Germany, Japan and Slovenia. Leyla has exhibited in a number of countries, including Kazakhstan, Turkey, Russia, Italy, USA, Japan, India, China, Germany, Japan, Moldova, Belgium, Netherlands, Hungary, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Singapore, Bangladesh, China, Austria, Latvia, and Slovenia.