Leilah Babirye (1985- ) is an Ugandan artist based in New York. Known for her abstract sculptures made out of used materials, Babirye's pieces are all “woven, whittled, wielded, burned and burnished”. Her use of discarded materials relates to abasiyazi in Luganda, meaning "rubbish" and is a prerogative to refer to members of the LGBTQIA community. Through material and subject matter, masks, she is asserts that queer identities are not oppositional to African identities.  Babirye studied art at Makerere University in Kampala from 2007 to 2010.