From 19–22 September, Cementa returns to Kandos with all the wonder and weirdness that make our festival what it is. This time under the guidance of Lead Curator Daniel Mudie Cunningham and First Nations Curator Jo Albany, Cementa24 will bring the town to life for four days of art that is fun and strange, beautiful and perplexing. And most of all, given in a spirit of generosity from shared points of connection between the artists and the people of Kandos.

Here’s just a taste of what to you can expect. Traditional Custodian Lauren Swain will be serving a lovely cup of Reclaim, connecting Culture and Country through slow time. Vanessa Berry’s Kandos Visitor’s Map delicately delineates local stories through written and drawn impressions of Kandos. Have your aura photographed by Kate Mitchell, and then join Kandos School of Cultural Adaptation in Disturbance, interrupting the ecology of the nearby paddock in a series of games and activities that disrupt and reveal the functioning of its natural order.

Branch Nebula teams up with Latia Taumoepeau to present Exposure, a new work performing the implications of climate precarity. Gabrielle Bates will treat us all to an Art Scrum, Georgia Banks will host a gender diverse Debutante Ball, Djon Mundine will throw himself against a wall, and Doug Heslop will fill the Kandos Hotel’s monumental bird cage with a creature called “Bubba”.

More than 50 artists present more than 40 artworks in 20 venues across Kandos. Bookended with Opening and Closing Ceremonies at the North East Wiradjuri Cultural Centre, Cementa24 also sees the return of the Cementa Salon at WAYOUT as a showcase for local artists; Performance Night as a raucous evening of anarchy, this time co-presented by Performance Space with artists from across regional and metropolitan NSW; and Sound Night as a sonic hotbed of experimentation, this time with Noise Xhurxh taking the program outside to the golfing green.

We wish we could gush at you about all of the artworks in the festival, but you’ll just have to come up to Kandos for that. Our team is working at full steam and the artists are all prepped and ready to converge for four unforgettable days of contemporary art and community in one of the best little towns in regional NSW.