CAROLYN OEI
Throughout her vibrant international career spanning nearly two decades, Carolyn has served as a commercial law litigator, an IT and business features journalist, news editor for a state media agency in Beijing, a news presenter and social commentator on Singapore radio and a public relations consultant in Singapore, London and Beijing.
Carolyn organises festivals, curates events and writes/edits non-fiction and academic titles. She is a published author and copy editor.
An educator and community builder at heart, Carolyn was a lecturer at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (School of Arts Management, Dance & Theatre), Ngee Ann Polytechnic (School of Interdisciplinary Studies) and LASALLE College of the Arts (School of Creative Industries).
Carolyn is an alumna of the University of London and a qualified Barrister (Gray’s Inn, Bar of England and Wales) and Advocate & Solicitor (Supreme Court of Singapore).
Animal welfare and community service are equally major parts of Carolyn’s life. She is a member of AWARE and volunteers with 3Pumpkins, a community arts and cultural development agency.
MARC NAIR
Marc is a poet and photographer and a recipient of the 2016 Young Artist Award (National Arts Council) and has published seven volumes of poetry. His latest collection is Intersection, a poetic and visual architecture of space and memory created together with artist Nicola Anthony. A TEDxSingapore speaker, he has worked on projects with companies and institutions such as Nespresso, Costa Coffee, Perrier Jouet, AWARE and BURO 24/7.
A seasoned poetry slammer; he has performed spoken word for over ten years in more than ten countries and has represented Singapore in international poetry slam competitions. He is also a founding member of local spoken word troupe, Party Action People. Marc was the 2015 Writer-In-Residence at Gardens by the Bay and was the 2016-17 NTU-NAC National Writer in Residence. A multi-disciplinary artist at heart, he is also a musician and sets his poems to music. To date, he has released two spoken word albums with his band, Neon and Wonder, and has collaborated with musicians such as Bani Haykal, weish and Tim De Cotta. Marc is a 15th National Youth Council member.
“I’ve always enjoyed a range of poetic voices when it comes to my sources of inspiration. Some sustain me for a season and others, like Anis Mojgani and Billy Collins, continually bring fresh fruit and subtle insights. My latest collection, Intersection, draws heavily on the visual competencies of John Bergman and the intersecting points between lived space and poetic space.”