Kanak was born in 1963 in the Rangamati Hill Tracts, in a small town named Tabal Chari, a remote hill area. Her father is a retired businessman and her mother is a textile designer and weaver who has twice won national awards for her work.
She attended the School of Art, University of Dhaka in Bangladesh and received her Master of Fine Arts degree in 1986. Later she studied art at Pennsylvania State University in the United States from 1993 to 1994, where she received the Mid-American Arts Alliance Fellowship. She cites her family as the "first viewers" of any of her finished paintings.
She returned to Bangladesh after successful completion of her course. In her solo exhibition, Life is Here, held in 2014 at Bengal Art Lounge in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Kanak paid tribute to her own community, the Chakmas, with 80 paintings. 2009: Appointment 2009 (group) 2010: Journey to Peace(solo) 2010: Rooted Creativity-3(group) 2011: Colorful Yunnan (group) 2012: 15th Beijing International Art Expo (group) 2012: Drawing Exhibition (group) 2012: Saju"s Grand Group Art Exhibition(group) 2012: Dreams-Sowing (solo) 2013: Colours Across the Bangla Delta(group) 2013: Amader Kotha(group) 2014: Life Is Here (solo) 2014: Then and Now (group) 2015: Life 2 (group).
2008: Olympic Fine Arts Medal, Beijing, China. 2006: Best of The show, Museum of Americas, Florida, United States 2003: Diploma Award from 2nd International Tashkent Biennale. Uzbekistan 2003: Grand Award, Latin American Art Museum, Miami, Florida, United States 1999: Honourable Mention Award, Silver Jubilee of Saju Art Gallery, Dhaka, Bangladesh 1993-1994: Mid-American Arts Alliance Fellowship Award, United States Master Zainul Abedin Memorial Award, Cultural Reporter Association of Bangladesh 2003: Best Personalities in Art, by Arabians Fashion beyond imagination, Dhaka 2002: National Award, Best Painting, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy 1994: "TOP TEN" Best woman Personalities in Bangladesh, Life Time achievement, Anonna Award 1992: 2nd Award on Modern Painting, International Miniature Art Contest, Florida, United States.
She is a member of the Chakma people.
