Pearly Pouponneau
Captured by Pano Media
Embracing All Sides of You
In this talk, Pearly Pouponneau shares a bold and deeply personal look at how her work lives at the intersection of art, activism, and sensuality. A multidisciplinary creator working across photography, film, events, and community programming, Pearly frames everything she makes as an act of reclamation.
She traces her roots to a childhood shaped by Punjabi Malaysian heritage, basement parties filled with music and community, and the complicated realities of addiction, abuse, and survival. From her father’s ability to build something out of nothing to the women in her life who carried pain with style and defiance, Pearly’s early influences became the blueprint for what she creates now: spaces that feel safe, provocative, and alive.
Over the past decade, she has built a body of work spanning community events, independent film, media collaborations, and public recognition. At the centre of it is Garage Sessions, a trauma-informed creative offering designed as a consent-forward, safety-driven space for self-expression. More than a service, it is her independent platform. Something she owns. Something no one can take away.
Through contrasting film excerpts, Pearly demonstrates her refusal to be boxed in. Warmth and family sit alongside darker emotional explorations. Both are intentional. Both transform lived experience into art.
She closes by naming the full picture: the support systems that sustain her, the backlash that challenges her, and the ongoing choice to keep creating anyway. For Pearly, success is not fitting into a category. It is turning pain into purpose and building spaces where others can do the same.
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