A recent recipient of an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for exemplary work in the performing arts sector, Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa is making waves at just 30 years old.
She's the youngest female Executive in the Perth arts sector, an award-winning performer, a published writer, has performed poetry on mainstream television, and is a leader in her community.
Across the last decade, Sukhjit's work as a multi-form artist has been recognised in the form of multiple awards. She was a semi-finalist on 'Australia's Got Talent' in 2016, and premiered her sell-out theatre show 'Fully Sikh' with Barking Gecko Theatre Company and Black Swan Theatre Company in 2019.
Since, with her partner, Perun Bonser, she was selected to develop a rom-com series 'One Of The Good Ones', and she's been developing her comedy series 'What Would Suki Do?' with support from ABC TV.
Among other things, Sukhjit has premiered a video installation work, released a debut hip hop single, presented at TedxUWA and TedxNewton, and released a novel. . . As well as being the Executive Director of Perth's Blue Room Theatre. She's been selected to be in Creative Australia's 2024-25 Creative Leadership cohort.
The recently-awarded Order of Australia Medal is much-deserved – but Sukhjit says this is just the beginning. Here, we sat down with her to reflect on everything that's happened up to now, delve into the importance of representation and inclusivity in theatre, and discuss Blue Room Theatre's 2025 season.
Congratulations on receiving the OAM! What was your reaction when you first found out about this honour?
I was really surprised. I didn’t know much about the process of how people get those funky letters after their name or the significance of it. Now that I've had a bit of time to reflect on it (and move past the colonial origins of the award), it’s a cool moment for the performing arts in WA, Sikhs around the world and young people!
You’ve achieved so much in your career already – how does this recognition fit into your personal and professional journey?
When I went on 'Australia’s Got Talent', the thing that changed overnight was more people knew I existed and heard my message but who I was and what I wanted to say hadn’t changed. I was doing my thing before and kept doing my thing after. Almost ten years on, this moment also feels the same to me. I’m still the same sheila that will keep speaking truth to power but maybe this OAM will help reach new audiences and have a wider impact. Or not – I'm also cool with that. Awards are great but actions are greater.
Image © Andrea Lim
What drives your passion for storytelling and the performing arts?
I’ve been asked this so much in my career but I don’t know if it’s one thing. I think it’s a mix of upbringing, culture, history, personality, exposure, and not seeing enough people who look like me on the big stages. I’m a big believer that if I want to complain about something, I also have to do something about it and not just accept it. Maybe if the Australian story wasn’t still so singular and conservative and decision makers didn’t all look the same, I wouldn’t have the same drive to work in the arts. Or maybe the stories I wanted to share would be different.
As Executive Director of The Blue Room Theatre, what has been the most rewarding part of your role so far?
Leading a cultural change that ensures all artists can take ownership of this space, not just a few. That’s my job, to cultivate a place for all stories, for artists from all backgrounds to come together and co-exist and engage with live performance. And with the limited resources we have, we’re doing it within a sector that is still struggling to make that change. So hopefully our actions will inspire other orgs who have bigger budgets, teams and communities to also reflect. If we can do it, so can you! “Diversity”, I say as I roll my eyes, isn’t hard or scary. It can be fun, sexy, and as our Creative WA vision states 'vibrant, booming and sustainable'. If we aren’t seriously making steps towards diversifying teams, leadership, boards, artists, decision makers, crew, funders etc – our organisations will become irrelevant to the general public, to our audiences, to our artists. When I watch under-represented folks doing their thing at our theatre, I’m usually in the back row having a private cry. It might not feel like anything revolutionary for artists or our community, but it’s a big deal for me, for how far we’ve come.
The Blue Room Theatre has a strong focus on inclusivity and representation. How do you see its role in shaping the future of WA’s arts landscape?
We're a pathway, an integral step in someone’s career, we‘ve launched the careers of some of WA’s most celebrated artists. Whatever your skill or art form is, the best way to become great at it is to do it and back in the day people had the funding and opportunities to do it 100 times. Now, resources are limited, skills development opportunities are harder to find, theatres are shutting down, the cost of living makes it harder to be an artist – so how are you meant to practise your craft without a live audience to learn from? We’re here to give artists and arts workers the chance to build their skills by doing, taking a risk, making a show that pushes boundaries or plays with form. You can put on your first work here and the audience is generous!
'Fully Sikh'
You’ve worked across many art forms – from poetry and theatre to music and film. How do these experiences influence your leadership at The Blue Room Theatre?
In the last decade, I’ve noticed a shift towards multidisciplinary artists. Artists not feeling constricted to one art form. Maybe it’s because you can’t really have a career in one art form anymore. It’s not financially viable. For me it’s because I love challenging myself in new spaces and trying something new. Letting go of perfectionism and judgement. I also took a very 'non-traditional' pathway into becoming an artist and even being in this role. Hopefully that helps those that feel like the only path to becoming an artist in Boorloo is intergenerational wealth, private school resources, institutional privilege, family connections and the right bloody Aussie accent. Because I only have one of those things and I taught myself how to speak that way (different story for another time that involves Steve Irwin). Having a leader at The Blue Room who has been an indie artist for a decade helps inform future dreaming, decision making, policy, programming, the audience experience etc and most importantly empathy with who we serve. The other perspective I bring to my day-to-day is what it means to be a brown indie artist and arts worker. In the last 18 months, I’ve barely scratched the surface – we have heaps of work to do but with each step I believe we can become an inclusive space of development and experimentation.
What are you most excited about for The Blue Room Theatre’s upcoming 2025 season?
2025 is the year of fun and fullness. We have received our Creative Australia multi-year funding again and we are not going to waste any time showing up for our indies. We just wrapped up our Summer Nights festival which supported 21 shows and now heading into our Annual Season of 24 shows that will support over 300 artists. We have increased our partnerships with local and national organisations that we are so proud to work with. I can share more on our Annual Season once it’s launched in March. The vibes of Summer Nights have put us in good spirits and hope to keep the momentum going of a full venue and planning for future projects like this that will put our strategy into action. We’re making a very conscious effort to meet new artists, to get outside of the inner-city bubble, into the suburbs and beyond, to make sure artists know they can access our opportunities and support. I’m really excited about this year is bringing back intergenerational teams and older artists, established folks, back into the building. My favourites shows I’ve seen over the years at The Blue Room are the ones that had intergenerational teams – that's where the magic of mentoring happened. Also, emerging artists aren’t necessarily always younger, we have been supporting older artists who want to develop their skills and we are all for it! Come on in and join our community!
Image © Candy Law
What advice would you give to emerging artists who are looking to find their voice and platform in the arts?
Don't waste any time with getting started. When I was 18 and discovered spoken word poetry, it took me a year to write a poem and perform it publicly. I was scared of getting it wrong, not knowing the rules, not being liked, not being understood and ultimately, failing. We can be our own worst enemies and have such a fear of failure. I then did a year of unpaid gigs so I could soak up as much knowledge as possible and learn by doing. The only way you will learn is by doing the art. I did a screenwriting programme during COVID, and we were paired with a legit Hollywood writer and we were treated like professional writers which came with professional deadlines. We had three days to write a pilot episode and I nearly shat myself. It was so hard but I’m so proud to learn how to do that. And because we didn’t have time to overthink or be perfect – we just did it! Even recently during the summer holidays, I had a couple of days off and wrote a play because sometimes we can spend a year talking about the art but not making it. And you’ll never know what it could be if you don’t start somewhere. What do you want to say? How do you want to say it? Who is this work for? Who do you need to help you make it happen? Sometimes all you need is one other person and you’ve got a team. Learning who to let in and who you can be honest with are vital. Also, learning how to process feedback – that's something that I don’t think the arts and theatre world is awesome at. Feedback in the creative process is so important for growth and editing and learning about audiences and in order to work through this we need to confront our egos.
How do you stay inspired and motivated in such a dynamic, creative career?
I have an amazing partner who I can be fully transparent with, I have hilarious friends who I can laugh with, I have a generous family who heals me every time, I have such a supportive community that show up for me, I have wonderful staff and board at The Blue Room that have embraced my vision, and I have lots of things I want to say and do. I’m just getting started. I had my Boorloo launch for my book the other night and the folks that showed up encapsulated all of the above and the energy at the event reminded me not to feel alone but to lean on others for love and support because they’re out there! Bringing people together keeps me going.
Finally, what’s next for you?
This role is my priority right now, so I’ve put a lot of big screen and theatre projects on hold but maybe a new song release needs to happen in 2025?! One day in the far future, I’d love to be the Arts Minister, but that’s just a funny fantasy.
