Hannaleah Ledwell (she/her) is an emerging artist born and based in Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang/Montreal. Rooted in moments of tenderness and vulnerability, her practice draws on continuous self-observation stemming from living with multiple invisible chronic illnesses.
Ledwell holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University. She has exhibited in several Montreal galleries and is currently preparing for a solo exhibition at Fais-moi l’art in June 2025. A recipient of a Canada Council for the Arts grant in 2023, her work has been featured in the annual Les Impatients: Parle-moi d'amour exhibition-auction, as well as in Optimista: Film Talks for Better Tomorrows, alongside artists such as Innu poet Joséphine Bacon.
Through visual and muscular memory, Ledwell explores singular bodies presented from different angles, in various positions, and even across multiple temporalities within a single image. Relying solely on her power of recall as a visual reference, Ledwell examines how the body and its relationship with its environment can become vehicles for expressing sensitivity, intimacy, and healing.
More recently, in a project entitled “Ressourcement/Where We Go to Heal”, Ledwell draws inspiration from the experiences of others to deeply explore her own questions of identity-related to invisible illness. Based on conversations with individuals living with chronic illnesses and hidden disabilities, she allows herself to be guided by their stories and creates from the mental imagery that emerges.
Informed by the somatic relationship between herself and the world around her, Ledwell translates the stories we tell ourselves, encouraging viewers to reflect on their own vulnerability and on the shared narratives that define our humanity.
