A previous initiative supported by the NSW Government, Third Place Studio, facilitated ”Meet our Makers” to highlight the many arts, crafts and artisan groups of the Harden-Murrumburrah area. Photo: Keith Ward.
A new program is set to revitalise towns across regional New South Wales with the power of arts-led regeneration.
Launched by Regional Arts NSW in partnership with Cementa Festival co-founder Alex Wisser, the RALLY program invites artists from across the state to connect and collaborate.
Regional Arts NSW CEO Tracey Callinan said the goal was to nurture sustainable development and vibrant communities across regional areas.
“When it comes to small towns undergoing a regeneration process, so many of them use arts front and centre to make change,” she said.
“It might be because of the way the town looks, it might be an activity, a festival, art-making programs, public art – all of those things help re-enliven those little towns.”
The program will deliver workshops across five rural centres – Broken Hill, Deniliquin, Ganmain, Harden and Manilla – culminating in a two-day statewide development session in Kandos in April 2026.
A bespoke Rural Design Club, led by graphic designer Rach Viski and architecture consultant Tony McBurney, will also offer expertise in digital and urban design. It will show first-hand how creative design can drive rural regeneration and encourage artists to lead efforts in their own backyards.
“There is no simple formula and I think that’s the beauty of it,” Ms Callinan said. “It’s got to be led by the people in those towns. They have to choose the things that interest them and that they think will work for their communities.
“That might be making the main street more engaging, or finding creative spaces for people to enjoy. It might be galleries or workshops, or craft and fashion outlets.”
The program comes from strong foundations in arts-led regeneration, most notably demonstrated in Kandos with the establishment of the Cementa Festival, also co-founded by RALLY’s Alex Wisser.
Established in 2013 after the closure of the Kandos Cement Works, the contemporary art festival helped breathe new life into the town, rebuilding its identity and economy.
“Once the cement works closed, there was a little bit of an expectation that that town would die,” Ms Callinan said. “And one of the reasons it hasn’t – and in many ways it’s thriving – is because of the role arts now plays in that community.”
With new residents attracted to the area, including 2022 Archibald Prize winner Blak Douglas, Ms Callinan said Kandos had had a remarkable journey from “a cement-based community to pretty much an arts-led community”.
RALLY participant Eliza Wells said as well as enhancing creativity and self-expression, she hoped the program would reduce loneliness and improve wellbeing in her community in Harden-Murrumburrah.
“Harden-Murrumburrah has taken a bit of a beating over the last decade, including a loss of autonomy during the forced local government merger and lingering discontent, followed by COVID-19, the ongoing neglect and disuse of privately owned buildings, and – most recently – the natural disaster in February,” Ms Wells said.
“It has been frustrating and heartbreaking to watch the decline in these gorgeous twin towns.”
According to Ms Wells, the investment by Regional Arts NSW in the community’s future offers a renewed sense of hope.
“A few locals are familiar with the success of Alex Wisser in Kandos and are excited about his involvement and guidance,” she said.
Describing herself not as an artist but a community arts and cultural development practitioner, Ms Wells explores how arts and culture can drive social change, strengthen rural communities, and contribute to individual and collective resilience.
She has addressed this challenge from all sides as a writer, researcher, lecturer and festival director, and most recently as strategic partner to the Harden-Murrumburrah Regional Development Corporation (HRDC), and through her own creative community and arts advocacy initiative, Third Place Studio.
Ms Wells said the RALLY program provided an extraordinary level of support to overcome some of the common challenges experienced by regional artists and their communities.
RALLY participant Eliza Wells dreams of an exciting calendar of events that engage the wider community with her town. Photo: Supplied.
“The lack of arts infrastructure, limited cultural investment, a smaller number of participants, difficulties accessing funding, and geographic isolation – among other factors – present significant hurdles,” she said.
“I would love to see Harden-Murrumburrah proudly celebrate and support the many creatives who live here.
”I would love to see the abandoned and unused spaces reinvigorated through arts and artists. I daydream of a calendar of engaging and exciting events that invite the wider arts and rural communities to our little towns.”
While RALLY is currently only funded for its first year, Regional Arts NSW hopes the networks created by the program will continue independently, with communities building on the initial framework and extending arts-led regeneration into towns across the state.
For more information, visit www.regionalartsnsw.com.au/rally.
