CQU Bundaberg will host the 'Making Badlands: Conference and Art Exhibition' from December 1-2.

The conference is organised around the theme of the Australian Badland: what it means to speak of a space as a badland, its relation to history and the national imagination.

The conference has been organised by the Bundaberg Media Research Group and Transformations Journal.

The keynote speech is to be given by Professor Ross Gibson from UTS in Sydney. Professor Gibson is an internationally recognised writer and artist. His book, 'Seven Versions of an Australian Badland', is a personal and cultural history of the so-called Horror Stretch, between Rockhampton and Mackay.

The conference has around 25 speakers coming from all around Australia as well as New Zealand, speaking on topics as diverse as Australian film, the Queensland sea-change phenomenon, rising salinity in Australia's centre, and Aboriginal perspectives on the badlands.

There is also an exhibition to be run alongside the conference, curated by multimedia lecturer Grayson Cooke. This exhibition will feature photography, film, sound, video and interactive works reflecting on the theme of the conference. This will be the largest exhibition of new media works ever shown in Bundaberg.

The conference and exhibition are free to the general public. The conference begins 9am on Thursday December 1st with the keynote speech, and is followed by sessions of papers and discussion.

Further information can be obtained on the conference website at http://transformations.cqu.edu.au or by calling Grayson Cooke on 4150 7136.