When Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa walked into her first open mic in Perth, she had no idea she was stepping into a transformative poetry slam. This unexpected encounter would eventually lead her to the prestigious Sydney Opera House, where she would address the audience on the subject of her body hair.
Khalsa’s journey into spoken word poetry began at the age of 18 while studying political science. A friend introduced her to the work of American poet Sarah Kay, sparking her interest in using poetry as a medium for political change. “I was looking for a way to make change and get my political message out there, but I didn’t want to wait,” she recalls. “[Slam poetry] seemed like a good way to do it quickly.”
The Rise of a Poet
Despite her enthusiasm, it took Khalsa a year to muster the courage to write her first poem, which she performed at that initial open mic in Perth. The piece delved into her experiences as a Sikh woman who, for cultural reasons, does not remove her body hair, yet often feels judged for it. “The poem was so niche and [directed] towards my community, I didn’t know how to translate that to this very mainstream, white audience, but I did it anyway,” Khalsa says.
Her boldness paid off, landing her in the national final of the Australian Poetry Slam at the Opera House in 2014. This milestone set her artistic career in motion. Since then, Khalsa has been awarded an Order of Australia medal, become the CEO of Perth’s independent theatre Blue Room, and released her debut book, Fully Sikh: Hot Chips and Turmeric Stains. These accomplishments have all unfolded in just the past two years.
Khalsa credits her trip to Sydney as a turning point, where she realized, “You can do this full-time. You can be an artist.”
Embracing Her Identity on Stage
Becoming an artist was a long-held ambition for Khalsa, even if she didn’t initially see it as a viable career. At the tender age of four, she wrote her first play, dictating it to her older sister. “They were always family parodies, with larger-than-life characters,” she remembers. “But [within that] there was a deep issue that little me wouldn’t have known was a deep issue.”
As she matured, Khalsa began writing and performing observational poetry, often touching on her spirituality and early experiences of racism. Despite performing these pieces at school, she remained shy until slam poetry encouraged her to embrace her true self on stage. “I hated myself, hated my body hair, hated not belonging,” she confesses.
The momentum from the Australian Poetry Slam propelled her to move to Melbourne at 20, with just $500 in her pocket. It was an escape from what she perceived as the restrictive arts scene in Perth, characterized by its isolation and limited opportunities for artists.
Venturing into New Territories
In Melbourne, Khalsa secured her most high-profile gig yet: Australia’s Got Talent in 2016. This exposure opened doors for international opportunities, allowing her to facilitate poetry workshops with Sikh communities in North America, Southeast Asia, and New Zealand. “It was very exciting, but it was also a rollercoaster,” she admits. “I don’t remember most of it.”
While in Melbourne, Khalsa was invited by Perth’s Barking Gecko Arts and Black Swan State Theatre Company to return home and create a spoken word production for young people. This project evolved over three years into the stage show Fully Sikh, which premiered in 2019 and earned her the WA Performing Arts Award for Best Newcomer. “It was the first Sikh play in Australia,” she proudly states.
Audiences were invited to remove their shoes in the theatre, and some even participated in cooking a Punjabi meal with Khalsa, creating a vibrant cultural fusion that thrilled her. “It was a f***ing hard experience, but you need to do those fights, so the next theatre-maker can go: ‘No, that was done’ [and create their own show].”
New Horizons and Leadership
The onset of the pandemic in 2020 prompted another career pivot for Khalsa, as she began exploring filmmaking and digital writing. “There’s a lot of problem-solving and it’s not necessarily super creative,” she explains. “It’s actually logical and takes longer and more money.”
This exploration led her to consider producing, eventually guiding her to the leadership role at Blue Room Theatre. There, she is committed to creating opportunities that were lacking when she left for Melbourne and inviting new audiences into the theatre. “I’ve never had a full-time job in my life; I’ve always been a freelancer,” she shares. “[This] was my chance to delve into an arts organization that has the same values as me.”
Educating and Inspiring
Khalsa reflects on her slam poetry as a means of educating audiences about Sikh identity in Australia. “It was like ‘Sikh PR’, [saying] ‘We’re not terrorists’,” she explains. However, she is no longer interested in solely focusing on this narrative. Now, she views her identity as an artist as encompassing more than just her Sikh heritage, as she works on screen projects, a rom-com musical, and new music. “I want to embrace fun,” she says. “I want to find joy in the mundane or even in chaos or when things aren’t perfect.”
Despite her evolving focus, Khalsa remains a role model for younger culturally and linguistically diverse artists and producers. “I’ve been aware of [being a role model] since the moment I went on Australia’s Got Talent,” she acknowledges. This sense of responsibility permeates her role at Blue Room Theatre. “I just feel this responsibility,” she says. “There’s very few of us that have been given these opportunities. I just want to make the most of it.”
Looking ahead, Khalsa is driven by larger ambitions, with only herself standing in the way. “Why am I letting imposter syndrome and systemic barriers stop me from wanting to maybe be the arts minister one day? Those are the goals that inspire me to keep going.”
