Cementa Friendship
ON NOW
2 August – 27 October 2024
June Gollan The Nature of Things (installation detail) 2013
Cementa Friendship was exhibited at Mudgee Arts Precinct from 2 August to 27 October 2024 and celebrated ten years of Cementa following the 2024 festival held between 19 – 22 September 2024.
Cementa Friendship was a review and celebration of ten years of one of the most unique contemporary arts festivals in Australia. Curated by co-founder Ann Finegan and current Creative Director and co-founder Alex Wisser, the exhibition explored and celebrated the journey and evolution of Cementa from the uncertainty and provocation of the first festival to the firm establishment of a unique model of collaboration and engagement that broadened the horizon of art making for both artists and audiences.
This exhibition invited artists from across five previous festivals to restage their work in a collective expression of this journey. The exhibition featured a selection of the original festival works to create a survey that outlined the course of the festival’s development and expressed the adventurous and experimental spirit in which a community of artists embraced a small working-class town and its community.
Archibald Prize-winning artist Blak Douglas reproduced his footpath hopscotch work renamed ‘Copscotch’ which invited the audience to ‘skip’ over the history of occupation. This work was complemented by Uncle Mervyn Bishop’s portraits commemorating the resilience of Kandos town Elders. Also included were video works by Alana Hunt, Daniel Mudie Cunningham, Linden Braye and Zio Ledeux. The Twilight Girls (Helen Hyatt-Johnston and Jane Polkinghorne) mounted a full-scale reproduction of their billboard from Cementa17, ‘Welcome to Cemental’, taking up the humour of skeptical locals whose pet name for the festival was ‘Dementa’.
Full List of Artists
- Alana Hunt
- Blak Douglas
- Christine McMillan
- Daniel Mudie Cunningham
- Ella Dreyfus
- Ian Milliss
- Joel Tonks
- June Golland
- Lena Obergfell
- Linden Braye
- Margaret Roberts
- Merv Bishop
- Sarah Goffman
- Terry Burrows
- Twilight Girls - Helen Hyatt-Johnston & Jane Polkinghorne
- Zio Ledeux
VIEW THE CEMENTA FRIENDSHIP EXHIBITION CATALOGUE HERE
CEMENTA FRIENDSHIP
2 August – 27 October 2024
Mudgee Arts Precinct
90 Market St Mudgee, NSW 2850
Open daily 9am – 5pm
Cost: FREE
Cementa Friendship Installation view at Mudgee Arts Precinct Photo: Gus Armstrong 2024