Kambah

Abstract

Kambah is a suburb of Canberra that began in 1974. Kambah Station was subdivided and Village Creek went underground. Houses were built with a commons running through the middle. This exhibition explores Kambah through the eyes of those of us who live here. It investigates how a suburb that set out with utopian ambitions in the 1970s evolved to become famous as one of Australia’s biggest bogan suburbs. What does that mean in 2023, just before Kambah turns 50? What effect does it have on us as we prepare for challenges for communities from climate change?

The exhibition shares a digital map built from the community’s answers to the question ‘what do you know about Kambah that you think is important to share with others?’ Along side the map is a series of images of Kambah made using pinhole photography and cyanotypes. These are processes that take time and sunlight to record an image, very literal portraits of Kambah. Visitors to the exhibition can add to the digital map or join in a photography workshop. The aim is to show up what is valuable to those of us who live here and along the way, the diversity of who calls this place home (not just people, but everything/one else too) and what we might build together in the future.