Awang Damit Ahmad (b. 1956, Kuala Penyu, Sabah, Malaysia)  had his first encounter with art at the National Art Gallery at age 21 which led him to leave his job at Telekom to pursue a Diploma in Fine Art at Mara Institute of Technology. He underwent practical training at St Paul Hills in Melaka and graduated with the Universiti Teknologi Mara Best Student Award in 1983. In 1989, he pursued an MA in Fine Arts at the Catholic University of America, Washington DC. This gave him an opportunity to be exposed to various artistic styles and art collectives such as the Arlington Art Group and The Capitol Hill. His abstract style is consistent throughout his body of work -  Essence of Culture, Marista, Iraga, Payarama and Garismega - , and he has won awards in the Young Contemporaries (1984), Malaysia Bank Association Art Competition (1988) and Salon Malaysia (1992). He also received an Honourable Mention at the 1994 and 1995 Philip Morris Malaysia Art Awards.