The walk will acknowledge local history, honour the capacities of land and people to produce food and fibre, and help build cultural and ecological resilience. Along the way, artists will present and share work made specifically for each campsite.
The walk has been created in partnership with the National Museum of Australia, Graham Strong and the Wiradjuri Condobolin Corporation and will be held from 12 - 15 September with many ways for people to participate.
You can attend the entire event and camp and walk with the group over the 45kms, or camp and walk for a night or two. Come for a day time walk for all or part of the journey or attend one or all of the “Special Events.” There are no restrictions in how you can participate. If you’d like to camp and/or walk for 1, 2 or 3 days, please register on The CAD Factory’s website, www.cadfactory.com.au
For those who don’t like the thought of camping or walking, the “Special Event” nights are a good way to join in the conversation and experience contemporary art and community.
On the opening night of the walk, Friday 12 September, from 5:30pm - 7:30pm there will be a big celebration with Uncle Stan Grant talking about Wiradjuri language revivial, Uncle Jimmy Ingram talking about local histories, weaving demonstrations by the Hands On Weavers, traditional Johnny Cakes, along with performance, music, projections and more. All of this held at Buckingbong Camping Reserve, 7km down Buckingbong Rd Narrandera, past the Fisheries.
The second night of the walk, Saturday 13 September, brings internationally acclaimed artists Lorraine Connelly Northey and Jonathan Jones with Aunty Gail Clark to create a site-specific installation in the Buckingbong State Forest. These celebrated artists will work with local materials and stories to reconstruct notions of gunya or home. As their location is inside the forest, audience are asked to meet at the corner of Strontian Rd & the entrance to Buckingbong State Forest, Sandigo (just past the Gap Rd) at 5pm for a 5:15pm departure to the installation location with viewing and conversation from 6pm - 7pm.
The final night on Sunday 13 September will end with a performance on a huge land art work created in a Birrego paddock in 2009. Join Graham Strong, Steve Harradine and Vic McEwan at the Meridian Circle, and hear why it was constructed and the process involved in making it. Walk the Meridian Circle and experience music made by Strong and McEwan on guitar and fence. As this location is on private property audience are asked to meet at the corner of Strontian & Boundary Rd, Boree Creek at 5pm for a 5:15pm departure to the performance location. Performance from 6pm - 7pm.
Buckingbong to Birrego is the first project in The CAD Factory’s suite of Regional Partnership projects that will be held over the next 18 months and partner this Riverina based arts organisations with established city institutions; NMA, NAVA and Performance Space. Each organisation will engage with regional NSW artists, landscape and communities to create a major focus on contemporary regional arts practice, process and development.
Minister for the Arts, Troy Grant, said the funding is part of the NSW Government’s commitment to supporting arts and cultural projects in regional NSW. “The NSW Government is committed to increasing the opportunity for people in regional communities to experience high quality, locally-produced arts and culture,” Mr Grant said.
Buckingbong to Birrego, three-day walk What Lies Around the Bend? A Night of Community Celebration, Storytelling and Performance
Friday 12 September, 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Buckingbong Camping Reserve
A Site-Specific Installation by Lorraine Connelly Northey and Jonathan Jones with Aunty Gail Clark Saturday 13 September, 6pm - 7pm Buckingbong State Forest
The Meridian Circle Performance: Land Art, Music and Conversation
Sunday 14 September, 6pm - 7pm Birrego Paddock
Image above shows an aerial view of the Meridian Circle, a land-based artwork created by Graham Strong and Steve Harradine in 2009. Photo by Eddie Lloyd.