Martha Adem and Nabil Bhatia join returning members Shannon Whiteduck-Odjick and Ben Compton on Debaser’s 2025 programming committee! Together they will contribute to Debaser's programming over the next year.
Representing the realms of dance, illustration, production, jewellery-making, and DJing, we are thrilled to work with Nabil and Martha to program forward-thinking multidisciplinary works at Debaser events and programs.
Read more about Martha and Nabil below:
Martha Adem
Martha (she/they) is a Mexican-Lebanese-American dancer, musician, and multidisciplinary artist based in Ontario.
Their work encompasses themes based on their life experiences and interests, including cathartic grief rituals, liminal identity, connections between traditional craft and modern technology, and esoteric cosmic ponderings. World-building and physical authenticity are at the core of their artistic and narrative vision.
Martha has danced with Ottawa dance company Voices; performed and released music under Utech Records with the band UXVAE; had their writing published in Folklore for Resistance and Fantômes Zine, worked as an independent goldsmith, and created artwork for the bands Cetacea, A Flock Named Murder, and Horse Lung.
They are looking forward to working with others on the programming committee to help bring new voices and emerging artists to the stage, especially those who have unconventional/not easily describable creative practices.
Nabil Bhatia
Nabil Bhatia is a DJ, artist, and musicophile presently based in Ottawa. As an open format DJ (where he spins under the moniker nabilio), he aims to communicate his inner world and create sets that describe music’s cross-cultural journey across time and place. He draws inspiration from the mix of cultures that make him, as well as the vibrant, diasporic, and often revolutionary, sounds of underground scenes around the world.
His involvement in virtual and in-person music movements is diverse and extensive, and he has gained experience as a producer, in-studio consultant and contributor, curator, and writer. He is passionate about music, the people who make it, and the politics of the dancefloor. He is keen to contribute to initiatives that amplify underrepresented voices and push forward new sounds.