KANAK CHANPA CHAKMA

Kanak Chanpa Chakma's renown rests on her ability to blend the sensuous qualities of the pictorial space with reference to lives and lores of the Chakma community. Born on May 6, 1963, in a small town named Tabalchari of Rangamati Hill District, Kanak Chanpa completed her Master of Fine Arts degree in 1986 from the Institute of Fine Arts, now Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Dhaka. Later, she attended Pennsylvania State University in the United States from 1993 to 1994, where she received the Mid-American Arts Alliance Fellowship. She has been featured in over 100 exhibitions worldwide, including Australia, India, the United States, Germany, France, and England. She had a grand solo exhibition at the Edge Gallery in 2019. For her sustained practice as a painter she has won various awards, including Olympic Fine Arts Medal, Beijing, China in 2008. She received a Diploma Award from 2nd International Tashkent Biennale. Uzbekistan in 2003, the Grand Award from Latin American Art Museum, Miami, Florida, United States in 2003, the Master Artist Zainul Abedin Memorial Award from the Cultural Reporter Association of Bangladesh in 2003. She received the Ekushey Padak, Bangladesh's second-highest civilian award, in 2023 for her contribution to fine art.