We Make Spaces Divine ft. Dey

Pooja Nansi is a poet and educator who believes in the power that performance can lend to the written word. She has published three poetry collections: Stiletto Scars (2007), Love is An Empty Barstool (2013) and We Make Spaces Divine (2021). She also co-edited SingPoWriMo: The Anthology (2014), and co-authored Local Anaesthetic: a Painless Approach to Singaporean Poetry (2014), a teacher’s resource for Singaporean poetry. She has over 15 years of experience in secondary and higher tertiary education across Literature and Creative Writing.

Her key performance work includes her recurring one-woman show, You Are Here, which explores issues of migration through personal family histories. It opened in Singapore in 2015 and has since seen five iterations and toured to Australia. She also wrote and performed Thick Beats for Good Girls with Checkpoint Theatre which opened in April 2018 and explored the intersections between feminism, identity and hip hop.

From April 2013 to February 2018, she curated a monthly spoken word and poetry event called Speakeasy at Artistry, which showcased both emerging and established poets from Singapore and beyond, including Burma and Botswana. In December 2018, she co-founded the minority voices festival Other Tongues as a Youth Poet Ambassador Public Programme. From 2019-2023, she served as Festival Director of the Singapore Writers Festival, where her tenure was credited with transforming the nation’s premier literary event— broadening inclusivity and accessibility while defying global trends of aging audiences.

She was also a recipient of the Young Artist Award in 2016, Singapore’s highest accolade for Arts practitioners below the age of 35 as well as Singapore’s inaugural Youth Poet Ambassador. In 2024, she was conferred the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, one of France’s top cultural honours. She currently teaches Creative Writing at Nanyang Technological University and serves as Chief Publisher of AFTERIMAGE, the poetry publishing arm of Sing Lit Station.

Shivram Gopinath is a writer and spoken word performer from Chennai who calls Singapore and Amsterdam home. A two-time National Singapore Poetry Slam Champion, he has performed at Singapore Writers Festival, Borobudur Writers and Cultural Festival, Jaipur Literary Festival, among others. His work often contends with notions of identity, community and absurdity, as a way of exploring cross-cultural experiences. He is the author of the upcoming Dey (Ethos Books, 2024).

Isuru Wijesoma is a guitarist and session musician based in Singapore. His playing is influenced by various genres of music, ranging from the blues to Indian classical music. He is also an exponent of hindustani and carnatic slide guitar and is currently being mentored by Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya and Guru Lazar Thurakkal Sebastine. Wijesoma has shared the stage with renown Singaporean and international artists across numerous live and televised performances. While he continues to relish the opportunities that come with being an in-demand session musician, Wijesoma now hopes to make a mark on the regional scene with his own approach to the guitar and music.

With over 20 years of experience in DJing, RAAJ (also known as Joshua P.) has left a significant impact on the Southeast Asian music scene. Drawing from his Tamil roots, he strives to showcase his culture while maintaining a deep connection to his heritage.

RAAJ has held residencies at iconic local venues such as KU DE TA/CE LA VI, Butter Factory, and Fashion Bar. He frequently headlines local parties, consistently pushing the boundaries of music and culture. His eclectic sets blend genres such as Funk, Soul, House, Bass, Garage, Afro, and Tamil and South Indian hits, creating a unique and vibrant experience for his audience.

RAAJ's influence extends beyond the DJ booth; he has served as a music director for establishments like KU DE TA, CE LA VI, Bar Rouge, and currently Mandala Club. His booking selections at Mandala Club reflect his commitment to diversity, featuring artists like JYOTY, NASH (IND), Habibibeats, Nia Archives, and Yung Singh, Murder He Wrote, among others, contributing to the rich tapestry of Singapore's club landscape. He has also had the privilege of sharing the stage with international names including Anderson.Paak, Nightmares On Wax, LTJ BUKEM, Conducta, Henrik Schwarz, SIRENE!, Gregor Salto, and Basement Jaxx.