Eumundi Writers Festival 2026 Opening Party

Welcome to Country by emerging Gubbi Gubbi Dance artist Zeke Davis.

Festival Director Dr. Suzanne Campin will outline the program and its journey.

Award winning portrait artist Ellenie Faith Kirkman will speak about her Human Condition portrait that is the visual theme of the festival on the topic of "A reflection on how art has represented the Human Spirit".

Join Mayor Rosanna Natoli who will officially launch the festival and be part of the official Festival Photograph. 

Ezekiel Davis is a Kabi Kabi traditional custodian and representative of the Sunshine Coast Mooloolah people . Zeke was born and raised on the Sunshine Coast and has been performing Aboriginal song and dance since the age of one with his father’s dance troupe Gubbi Gubbi Dance. He is and now presenting cultural programs within our local schools and community. Zeke is proud to be able to share local Kabi Kabi language history and cultural storytelling. Promoting our shared responsibility of caring for country and custodianship.

Hear Ellen Faith-Kirkman speak about her portrait.

 "A reflection on how art has represented the Human Spirit."

Ellenie Faith Kirkman is a nineteen-year-old Australian artist. She has been oil painting for the last three years but has been drawing almost every single day since she was a child.  In 2024 Ellenie had her first solo exhibition, “Gifts from Artemis’ Table” which was a celebration of the transition into adulthood expressed through her art. At the start of 2025 she began working with the Brisbane based Aspire Gallery, which has represented her at events such as the Affordable Art Fair in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, Towers and Downlands art shows. Earlier this year, she was awarded the Mary Snow Emerging Artist award by Fairholme Art Prize. She draws inspiration from her childhood, the beauty of human connection and romanticising the little things in life and tries to focus on this in her work.

Rosanna Natoli was elected Mayor of the Sunshine Coast in March 2024, but has served the Sunshine Coast community for almost three decades. Her focus now is to help create a better Sunshine Coast for the people who live here currently, and the generations to come. She began her career as a journalist and presenter for Seven News and has been a familiar face on television screens across Queensland. She has worked extensively with community groups and charities covering news and creating events that celebrate life on the Sunshine Coast. 

Rosanna has also worked as a university academic, researcher, and lecturer at the University of the Sunshine Coast for 25 years, in the communications school. Rosanna has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Queensland, a Graduate Diploma in Communication from QUT.  She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has co-authored four journal articles published in peer reviewed journals. 

This is Dr Suzanne Campin's second year as Festival Director. She has a background across sectors including the arts. She lives in beautiful Eumundi and is the President of the Eumundi Residents Association of which the Eumundi Writers Festival is one project. Suzie is also an art guide at QAGOMA and a would-be emerging writer. She takes great delighting in curating a festival that is all about writers and inspiring conversations that matter.

Discover more about the Eumundi Writers Festival here: https://eumundiwritersfestival.com.au/