Kalikopuanoheaokalani Aiu is a māhū/bakla dancer, choreographer, writer, multi-media artist, and community organizer who co-founded Nā Maka ʻEkolu, an up and coming māhū-led and centered Asian-Pasifika arts, education, and community-building organization.
2023 LIFT Awardees
Jared Andreas
Jared Andreas is a painter whose surrealistic works explore themes of cultural identity, otherness, and constructed reality.
Angelique Kalani Axelrode
Angelique Kalani Axelrode creates experimental film content that focuses on movement and performance rather than a traditionally structured narrative.
Kyle “Hokona” Kootswatewa
Kyle “Hokona” Kootswatewa is an enduring practitioner of Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Hopi pottery maker, and a rising traditional weaver of natural fibers.
Ayuthea LaPier
Ayuthea LaPier is applying their skills in basketry, commercial beadwork, and ancestral cultural burning practices to their evolving artistic practice.
Agalisiga “chuj” Mackey
Agalisiga “chuj” Mackey is a singer-songwriter dedicated to perpetuating the Cherokee language through his original country-folk music.
Kanani Miyamoto
Kanani Miyamoto is an artist, curator, and passionate educator whose works include large-scale murals and mixed-media installations.
Alica “Sheyahshe” Mteuzi
Alica “Sheyahshe” Mteuzi conjures Afro-Indigenous futurisms to challenge systemic annihilation through film.
Golga Oscar
Golga Oscar is a culture bearer and self-taught artist who seeks to revitalize traditional Yup’ik work with contemporary materials and designs.
Mikaela Shafer
Mikaela Shafer’s paintings tell a story of disconnection— generational, cultural, and spiritual.
Alana Tiikpuu
Alana Tiikpuu is a non-binary Nez Perce and Navajo writer, director, and animator.
Ashley Young
Ashley Young’s honest songwriting addresses self-discovery, tribal values, and matters of love.