Cementa is a free biennial festival of contemporary art in the central western NSW town of Kandos. The festival started in 2013 as a response to the closing of the cement works that the township was formed around over 100 years ago.
Taking place across four days, Cementa sees around 60 artists take over public, private and abandoned spaces within the town to present art in all kinds of mediums, including performance, sculpture, community-based and interactive works. The works address the identity and history of the town and the surrounding region in the context of social, environmental and economic spheres.
Some of the most exciting mid-career and emerging artists have taken part in Cementa so far, including Liam Benson, David Haines and Joyce Hinterding, Blak Douglas, Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro, and Ian Mills.
Running from Thursday April 6 to Sunday April 9, Cementa17 will exhibit works from a rich diversity of voices within the contemporary arts community, including Tony Albert, Mervyn Bishop, Nicole Welch, Teena McCarthy, The Mumps, PYT Fairfield and more.
