Key Points
- Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa releases her debut hip hop single questioning the deeper layers of diversity.
- For the last 10 years, the Perth-based Indian Australian has been actively involved in creating awareness about racism and visibility through the performing arts.
- She questions why there are issues around 'brown people' aspiring to the nation's boardrooms.
Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa first hit the limelight in 2016 when she performed on 'Australia's Got Talent' about the discrimination experienced by some Sikhs in Australia.
A strong advocate for diversity and visibility, she is a first-generation Indian Australian storyteller whose writings predominantly surround stories of the Sikh diaspora, identity, racism, family, cultural confusions, and gender.
Transitioning from poetry to music, she has now released her debut hip-hop single entitled 'Collectables'.
"It's been a decade now, and I've been working in the arts industry, theatre shows, film industry, and I sometimes feel like I need a place to speak my truth and here it is..," she told SBS Punjabi.
Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa Credit: Australia's Got Talent
"What I've found in my experience is that people don't mind having my face, my body on screen, or on a poster. But they sometimes don't like what I've got to say," she said.
"It's a struggle when we get told that we're just there for show.
"So I have used 'collectables' as a metaphor to depict that South Asians are not just for Harmony Week or to collect us up and put on a shelf but to include to make a meaningful change.
People are happy to portray brown people as Uber drivers, food delivery workers etc., but if they want to become CEOs or run organisations, then why suddenly are there issues with that?Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa
"I want us to question the deeper layer of what's actually going on."
Recipient of many awards, including WA Performing Arts Awards (2020), Western Australian of the Year (2021), Young Australian of the Year (2022), and the Western Australian Multicultural Awards (2022), Sukhjit's work has stimulated important conversations around identity, feminism, and race.
"Even though I'm born here, and I've received a lot of privileges of being born in Australia, I still recognise that each generation of Sikh migrants of Indian migrants, we're all experiencing something different," she said.
"But we all can come together and support each other because we're all experiencing some hardship or racism and we need to raise our voices and do it cleverly.
"Sometimes, you know, a song can make change rather than me constantly talking about it. Sometimes you never know how people are going to be inspired."
Click on the audio link to hear our special interview with Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa as she talks about identity and bullying, advising other Australian youngsters to raise their voices on these pertinent subjects.
LISTEN TO
Interview with Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa.
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