“We should learn to live with, instead of against nature”. Many locals will remember Bronwyn Davies from
16 years back, when she regularly organised artistic events for Club Zamia. Those times were over when she became Council’s Cultural coordinator. Editor Jaap Vogel inquired how she sees life, now she is retiring from
that job.

“I don’t see myself as being in retirement. I am just focussing on my own arts practice and other projects I want to work on. Before working for Council, I ran a world music venue, directed festivals, worked with community organisations and worked as an artist in my own studio on Tamborine Mountain. Now my plan is to spend more time back in the studio working as an independent artist. I use poetry and a variety of mixed media to create artworks to express my love for nature, concern for the planet and our lack of compassion towards each other and more than the human world. I believe in the power of the arts for transformation.”

“Divorce, dislocation, disease and death were factors defining my youth, but after moving to Tamborine Mountain in 1991, I felt I had found my home. I happily raised my three daughters here and built a life.”

After the tragic drowning after a heart attack of her then partner Dallas in 2012, Bronwyn continued living on the mountain and working in the arts. She then met her soulmate, Michael Bunney, in 2014 and remarried in 2017.

“My current work, art and poetry reflect my need to express my connection to place and my responses to being a female creative thinker in a world increasingly ruled by economic rationalism. I am working on several projects, including the importance of the littoral zone: the mangroves and the coral reefs, both under threat of climate change. Other investigations include a collaborative project on significant Australian trees; more works looking at flora and fauna of Tamborine Mountain and also what it is to be Australian... whatever that means. I’m planning some research trips and will exhibit finished works here on the mountain. In the end, it’s finding different ways to tell important stories... It is all about storytelling.”

“From a global perspective, we seem committed to perpetual growth and short-term political advantages rather than having a sense of privileged custodianship of the place we get to live in. We may have advanced to a point where we can fly to Mars but haven’t evolved our capacity to care for the planet and each other and live in harmony. I will continue to raise my voice for art, the environment and the community. That will continue to be my real passion in life.”