Bronwen Main is a multidisciplinary artist and designer working at the intersection of ecology and biomaterial innovation, engaging in furniture, architecture and sculpture. Through her practice, she aims to pave the way for more regenerative practices in urban art, demonstrating how public art projects can foster community and environmental stewardship in shared spaces for both human and non-human. 

Her background is in contemporary art and architecture. Before completing her Master of Architecture at the University of Melbourne, Bronwen studied Contemporary Art in New York and later became an ambassador in the Visitor Experience Team at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. During this time, this museum welcomed 7 million visitors annually. This experience transformed Bronwen’s understanding of audience engagement, the accessibility of public art, and the role of arts programming in shaping cities.

Bronwen has lectured and taught design studios, technology, history, and theory at the Melbourne School of Design and the Monash Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture. She has studied at Tianjin University, China, and the Pratt School of Architecture, in Brooklyn. In 2019, she conducted research at the Pratt Consortium for Research and Robotics to explore new modes of creative production utilising New York City’s largest industrial robot. 

Bronwen practiced at Kerstin Thompson Architects and SJB, before starting her own design and artistic practice. Her works have been showcased at the Green Design Show, Melbourne Exhibition Centre, Salamanca Arts Centre, Linden New Art Gallery and Melbourne Design Week.


Artist & Designer

Bronwen Main


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 Exhibitions & Commissions
Current

Past



“Harvest” Series of Hemp Murals, Green Design Show Melbourne Exhibition Centre (2024)

Hemp Furniture Series

The Main Chair: Furniture Designs for “In Conversation” Series Music VenueHigh Note, Northcote (2023)

Algorithm-aided design: New modes of creative production Pratt Consortium for Research & Robotics, Brooklyn NC (2019)



    Sand used as canvas with different light source trials to exagerate contrast.
    After researching algorithms-aided design, this study delves into the intersection of computational design and digital fabrication. A line drawing created in Rhino was inputted into Grasshopper, a visual programming language, to convey the initial design to the robot, which utilized sand as its drawing medium.

    The robotic arm, in conjunction with the Grasshopper program, was employed to create geometric shapes in the sand. This setup allowed the robotic arm to function like a pen on paper, with sand serving as the canvas. Additionally, various light sources were explored to highlight the subtleties of the designs created.



    Bronwen operating the robotic arm (IRB 1600 Robot)


    Grasshopper window program interface