Back Roads on ABC and ABC iview S11E4 – Presenter Heather Ewart heads to the curious town of Kandos, on the edge of the Great Dividing Range.
It was founded in the early 20th century to supply cement for buildings like the Sydney Harbour Bridge. But when the cement works abruptly closed in 2011, Kandos faced a grim future.
Heather meets American born artist, Alex Wisser, who launched the Cementa Arts Festival in Kandos in 2013. Contemporary artists and visitors flocked to the town, but local “Nanna” Ellen Riley tells Heather many residents initially struggled to understand the eccentric newcomers. When Alex took the advice of former cement worker, Jack Pennell, and connected more with locals, things started to turn around. Now artists and residents work side by side to redefine the town’s identity.
Heather gets swept up in the creative energy of the festival, even posing for an ‘aura’ portrait. She also meets artist and resident Gab Bates, who is collaborating with the local footy team, to combine sport and performance art in her ambitious project “Scrum”. Heather eagerly jumps in and experiences the power of art in bringing people together in unexpected ways.
Heather then heads out of town with Peter Swain, a Dabee Wiradjuri man, whose ancestors survived the Dabee massacre, a devastating chapter in local history. Peter shows Heather incredible rock art created by his ancestors, which tells the story of the land and the people who have lived there for thousands of years. Through Peter’s eyes, Heather gains a profound appreciation of the spiritual and artistic heritage that exists alongside Kandos’s new and evolving identity.
Production credit:
Executive Producer: Brigid Donovan. Series Producer: Louise Turley.
Back Roads on ABC and ABC iview – Thursday 30 January at 8.00pm
TV Central ABC content HERE
Back Roads on ABC and ABC iview S11E4
