Jesse Oliver
About Me
Jesse is a writer, artist, producer, and poet...
who carries his poetry like an end of times sign, but lives life like it's the greatest adventure.
In 2017, he entered the Australian Poetry Slam, battling his words through multiple state and national heats to take home the Adult Championship.
In 2018, Jesse toured his poetry around Australia appearing on platforms such as TedxPerth and the Byron Bay Writers Festival. He then launched internationally with the Ubud Readers and Writers Festival, the Singapore Writers Festival and the Hong Kong International Literary Festival.
Jesse's 2018 rap/poetry theatre production, Star-Crossed Poetry, sold out across it's six show FRINGEWORLD season.
In 2019, Jesse's obsession with community based arts led him into the world of production and leadership. Here, Jesse programmed and led community engagement events for both local and national performing and visual arts organisations in senior positions with a focus on increasing meaningful engagement with youth, queer and CALD groups.
He currently resides in Perth, Australia, supporting local arts organisations develop governance and resilience for the future of the arts, and still performs his work locally, nationally and internationally.
Jesse writes and creates poetry in the theme of love and understanding - for a future with zero tolerance of inequality grown from his passion of community based arts. He delivers a sincere, down-to-earth and rhythmic style to break down complicated issues and connect with his audience. Jesse’s work finds a way to highlight the strength in vulnerability, drawing from - and sometimes exploring - his lived experiences of homelessness, mental illness, and transgender and queer identity.
Film & Campaign
HSBC Bank Australia | 'Join the bigger picture' | 2020
Lead Talent
T2 Tea Australia | 'T2gether' | 2020
Featured Talent
Production, Community & Arts Management
City of Joondalup | 2023
Community Arts Officer
Express Media | 2021, 2022
Chief Executive Officer
Express Media | 2020
Creative Program Producer
National Young Writers' Festival | 2020, 2021
Festival Manager
National Young Writers' Festival | 2018, 2019
Festival Co-Director
Perth Institute of Contemporary Art | 2019
Engagement Programs Producer
Performance & Feature
Tweet Foundation Workshop Series | 2023
Facilitator, Mumbai
Adelaide Writers Festival | 2021
Featured Artist
Red Dirt Poetry Festival | 2020
Featured Artist
Melbourne Spoken Word Festival | 2020
Closing Night Stream Artist
Australian Poetry Slam, Word Travels | 2019
Regional NSW Tour, Artist/Host
Queensland Poetry Festival | 2018
Featured Artist
Singapore Writers Festival | 2018
Featured Artist
Hong Kong International Literary Festival | 2018
Featured Artist
Emerging Writers Festival | 2018
Featured Artist
Ubud Readers and Writers Festival - Bali | 2018
Featured Artist
Byron Bay Writers Festival | 2018
Featured Artist
TEDxPERTH | 2018
Featured Artist
National Young Writer's Festival | 2017
Featured Artist
Australian Poetry Slam, Word Travels | 2017
Australian Poetry Slam Champion