The Art Life + Cementa 13 – BFF

We’re excited to announce that The Art Life has joined forces with Cementa 13 as media partner for the four day event from February 1 – 4, 2013.

What the devil is Cementa 13 anyway?

Cementa is a biennial contemporary arts festival taking place in the post-industrial town of Kandos NSW. Over forty artists will exhibit video, installation, sound, 2d and 3d artworks in venues and locations across the town. Venues will include shop fronts, vacant lots, a disused school, scout hall, local pub, the local museum, golf-course, people’s homes, the surrounding bushlands, etc. The work will address the identity, history, and current social, environmental and economic context of the town. Both walking and cycling tours will be given every day of the festival, introducing audiences to the town, along a route that will incorporate all of the major exhibitions, emphasizing environmentally sound modes of transport. In addition, there will be specialised tours including an edible weed tour of the surrounding country, a bicycle tour by ARTcycle inc. of local bushland, an escarpment hike and a winery tour.

Artists include: Alison Clouston and Boyd – Lisa Andrew – Cigdem Aydemir – Connie Anthes – Liam Benson – Peter Blamey – Diego Bonetto – Sara Breen Lovett – Jenny Brown – Mark Brown – David Capra – Fiona Davies – Ben Denham – John A. Douglas – Jacqueline Drinkall – Gilbert Grace – Paul Greedy – Sarah Goffman – David Haines & Joyce Hinterding – Josh Harle – Amanda Hills – Robin Hungerford – Tom Isaacs – Jumaadi – Ruark Lewis – Francesca Mataraga – Fiona MacDonald – Peter McGuiness – Kate Mackay – Christine McMillan – Ian Millis – the Motel Sisters – Ro Murray – Kusum Normoyle – Lena Obergfell – Vincent & Vaughan O’Connor – Vienna Parreno – Madeleine Preston – Margaret Roberts – Kurt Sorensen – Josephine Starrs and Leon Cmielewski -The Stoked – George Tillianakis – Susannah Williams – Peter Williamson and more to come…

The Art Life & Cementa 13

For our part, we’ll be staging two panel discussions with participating artists on Saturday February 2nd [venue and times to be announced] and taking part in the walking and cycling tours. We’ll be recording the talks for inclusion in future podcasts and we’ll be live blogging our stay at Kandos.

Wait, what’s Kandos?

Kandos is a small industrial town located directly under a large escarpment in Central NSW. It is approximately 3 1/2 hours drive from Sydney, between Lithgow and Mudgee and was founded 99 years ago to house the work force of the Kandos Cement Works. Over its history, cement from Kandos has built the Harbour Bridge and much of the city of Sydney. Last year the cement works closed, leaving the town without a principle industry and an opportunity for transformation. We believe that the presence of this industrial heritage in the rural heartland of NSW will provide an ideal context for the demonstration of contemporary art’s capacity to describe, engage, critique, and celebrate both the world and our living in it.

More details can be found on the Cementa 13 blog and we’ll keep you posted.