Kalsang Dawa grew up in Lhasa where he has painted traditional Tibetan art since the age of 14. He later moved to Dharamsala where he studied a rigorous thangka painting program under Master Artist, Venerable Sengye Yeshi, the former personal painter of the Dalai Lama.

In 1998, Kalsang moved to Vancouver, BC, Canada where he currently lives with his wife and daughter. He has been a faculty member at Emily Carr University of Art and Design since 2004.

Kalsang has exhibited his work at galleries and museums including The Royal British Columbia Museum, among others, and his art prints have been sold at the Rubin Museum in New York and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. The Museum of Anthropology at UBC commissioned a Mandala of Compassion in 2009. Additionally, he has been profiled by CBC and the Vancouver Magazine and will be featured in the upcoming film Dancing On The Hurricane. He teaches painting workshops throughout North America and is the founder of Lapiz Healing Arts, a multidisciplinary school utilizing sacred art and traditional healing methods.