Kanha Sikounnavong was born in Vientiane in 1957. After graduating from the National School of Fine Arts (now the National Faculty of Fine Arts) in 1979 and teaching for three years at the Luang Prabang Provincial Secondary School of Fine Arts he obtained a Masters degree in Fine Art (scenography) from the National Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria. After returning to Laos he worked as a scenographer with the Central Spoken Drama Troupe before moving in 1996 to the Institute of Cultural Research to take up the position of Head of Art and Handicraft Research, a post which he holds to this day. Kanha has participated in numerous group exhibitions including the 6th and 8th Asian Art Bienniales in Bangladesh (1993, 1998), the 4th Asian Art Show, Fukuoka (1994) and several exhibitions organised by the Isaan and Lao Arts Association of Thailand. He has also had various solo exhibitions and won various awards including 1st Prize in a National Oil Painting Competition (1990), an Honourable Mention and Distinction of the Australian National Gallery (1993) and 1st Prize in Oil Painting at the Kunming Art Exhibition China (1999). Kanha was a member of the Sub Committees on the Construction of the King Fa Ngum Monument (2002-3) and the National Cultural Garden (2004). He was Secretary of the Lao Fine Artists’ Association from 1991 until 2004. In 2004 Kanha undertook a three-month residency on modern and contemporary art at Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan, and also started to produce cartoon animations on commission for picture books produced by the Association for Sending Picture Books to Lao Children (ASPB).