Episode 247 - Alex Wisser, co-founder of Cementa Festival: How a small cement town became one of Australia’s most unexpected contemporary art destinations.

About this episode

Alex Wisser discusses the transformation of Kandos into a contemporary art destination through the Cementa Festival.

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we speak with Alex Wisser, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the Cementa Festival, a unique contemporary arts festival held in the rural town of Kandos, New South Wales. Known for transforming a former cement-making town into a hub of experimental art, performance, and community collaboration, Cementa has become one of Australia’s most distinctive regional arts events. Alex shares the story behind Cementa’s founding and how the festival grew from a grassroots idea into a nationally recognised platform for contemporary artists working outside traditional gallery spaces. We discuss the role of regional arts festivals in shaping cultural identity, building creative communities, and bringing ambitious artistic projects to unexpected places. The conversation also explores the relationship between artists and place—how the industrial history, architecture, and landscape of Kandos influence the work presented during the festival. Alex talks about the curatorial philosophy behind Cementa, the challenges and rewards of producing large-scale arts programming in regional Australia, and why collaboration with the local community remains central to the…

People in this episode

Hosts: Fiona Verity, Julie Nicholson, Gary Seller

Guest: Alex Wisser

Topics covered

• contemporary art
• arts festival
• community collaboration
• regional arts
• performance art

Keywords

• Cementa Festival
• Kandos
• contemporary art
• Australia
• community collaboration
• performance

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cementa Festival

Places: Kandos, New South Wales, Australia

More episodes of Art Wank

• Epiosde 257 - Joe Furlonger: Four Decades of Painting · June 9, 2026 · 53 min
• Episode 256 - Andrew Jensen, Fox Jensen Gallery · June 2, 2026 · 58 min
• Episode 255 - Mason Kimber: Material, Architecture and the painted surface · May 26, 2026 · 1h 1m
• Episode 254 - Lustre: Artistic Responses to the ANZAC Campaign in Greece and Crete 1941 · May 19, 2026 · 53 min
• Episode 253 - Bonus Episode with artist and Art Wank host Julie Nicholson · May 18, 2026 · 25 min
• Episode 252 - Brett Mcmahon: A Poetic Repsonse to Landscape · May 12, 2026 · 1h 3m