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Artist Emmanuel Layila was born in Juba, Sudan in 1972. At age of 14 he left Juba, during civilian war in Sudan, and moved to Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan. There he studied Fine Arts and graphic design at the Sudan institute of Fine Art. Additionally, he studied drama and photography. His career has extended to theatre performance, graphic design, teaching, and directing.

The conceptual themes behind and throughout his journey of three body studies is to employ understanding and to deliver the truth. In 1999 he moved to Cairo, Egypt where he began teaching fine art. Emmanuel has exhibited internationally throughout his artistic career, sharing his Sudanese heritage around the world. He was represented by the Townhouse Art Gallery in Egypt.

He immigrated to Canada in 2005 to Edmonton, Alberta with his family. On his artistic journey in Edmonton he was the recipient of the Arts and culture Award for Recognizing Immigrant Success & Excellence (RISE) in 2008 from the Edmonton Council and is now represented at the Art Rentals and Sales Gallery at the Art Gallery of Alberta.