Ensconced in the Kandos Bicentennial Industrial Museum, I watched the floods of enthusiastic art lovers, lookers and makers wash through this idiosyncratic collection of historical and interesting objects. I was there to listen to and collect stories about the people who had given the town its shape and color and my hosts included two ladies in their 80’s, both raised in Kandos, who also had deep connection to the Museum and its eclectic collection. Deep insights into country living were gleaned from my many hours there, quietly listening, watching and talking.
Venturing beyond, I also found how far the dust of Kandos has been blown; I met people from the Central Coast, southern NSW and even as far away as Queensland, who had stories to tell me of this town, its past and their many connections with its development and changes over time. Cementa13, now a part of the story of Kandos, has now provided a small seed archive, which will hopefully grow and can be accessible for use in future art works and festivals.