Laniakea ("Immeasurable heaven", Hawaiian)

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Laniakea is an interdisciplinary, intercultural art practice founded in 2014 by husband-and-wife team Aaron Lee and Namiko Chan Takahashi, whose lives have been profoundly shaped by many years of practicing art and Aloha. We are based in Singapore and Kaua'i, Hawaii. Laniakea's mission is the cultural renewal of society through excellence in arts exploration and expression (both traditional and new). Write us: laniakea.la (at) gmail (dot) com

Aaron Lee

Aaron is a pilgrim poet, community organizer and regulatory/ ethics lawyer. He is acknowledged to have played a key part in the late 1990s renaissance of Singapore poetry. He has authored three books of poetry (including "Five Right Angles", which was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize). He is the co-editor of the best-selling anthologies "No Other City: the Ethos Anthology of Urban Poetry" and "Love Gathers All: The Singapore-Philippines Anthology of Love Poetry". His poems are published in Singapore and in countries such as Australia, Germany and the US, and placed on the syllabus of schools and universities. He is regularly invited to read his work and speak at literary festivals and conferences all over the world.

Aaron is a seasoned public speaker on topics such as leadership, interculturality, creativity and imagination, and faith and spirituality. He is a bi-vocational pastor with a faith community in the  Yio Chu Kang heartlands. He and Namiko love to help people discover and pursue their calling to a creative life.

More about Aaron at Poetry SG and Poets & Writers

Namiko Chan Takahashi

Namiko has been dancing and making art since she was five, featuring in many performances and exhibitions. She is one of Singapore's most accomplished portrait artists, working in the style of contemporary realism, in which she was trained at the Art Students' League of New York. She won the grand prize at the UOB Painting of the Year Awards in 2006. She is an elected member of the International Guild of Realism. Her work is found in many private international collections as well as in public institutions such as the Istana and the National Gallery of Singapore.

Namiko is also a trained educator, workshop leader and art consultant. She is a licensed arts community leader with the People's Association and is regularly invited to conduct painting and art exploration classes for the public, including children. For many years she trained in ballet, flamenco and Middle Eastern dance. She now directs, teaches and dances with Singapore's first branch of a Hawaiian Hula dance school, under the direction of Kumu Hula Leihi'ilani Kirkpatrick of Kaua'i.