Leah Oates has a B.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design and a M.F.A. from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is a Fulbright Fellow for graduate study at Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland.

Leah has been part of group shows in Toronto at the Gladstone Hotel, John. Aird Gallery, Connections Gallery, Gallery 1313,  Propeller Gallery, Artscape Wychwood Barns Community Gallery, Arta Gallery and The Papermill Gallery.  

Leah has had solo shows in the NYC area at Susan Eley Fine Art, The MTA Lightbox Project at 42nd Street, The Arsenal Gallery in Central Park, The Open Center, The Center for Book Arts and The Brooklyn Public Library Main Branch and had had solo show nationally and internationally at Black Cat Artspace in Toronto, Real Art Ways in Connecticut, Sara Nightingale Gallery in Long Island,  Artemisia Gallery in Chicago and at Galerie Joella in Turku, Finland.