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Words from the C26 Curator, Sebastian Henry-Jones
I wish for Cementa26 to be revealing of what’s already there – whether it be local forms of culture, creativity, histories or stories, Wiradjuri culture and Country. In this way art isn’t the focus of attention but something that helps us see the value of what’s in front of us – a lens or a frame; something that connects us materially to a context, or which we look through rather than at.
A particular area of interest for me in the context of Kandos is the role of art in responding to climate change, something that is felt most forcefully in regional parts of Australia. I am interested in reimagining the legacy of Land Art and Conceptual Art on this continent to move towards a kind of artmaking that might find it easier to prioritise the cultural and environmental health of Country, which would mean less of a focus on the individual and more on the collective. Art that acts in this way might not look like what we’re used to calling art, and it might inform an engagement from audiences that is different to what we’ve come to expect from a typical museum experience. All in all it is a practice of being specific to where the art is occurring and the histories that have shaped those conditions, which I think makes for a very meaningful kind of cultural production.
Cementa 2026 Full Program Schedule Coming Soon