Top five Australian painted silo trails to visit
The only mystery about Australia’s grain silo artworks is why it took so long for country communities to realise the towering sentinels that dot their landscapes make the perfect blank canvases for some spectacular paintings.Silo art is becoming a very big thing by putting previously unheard-of-towns on the map and attracting thousands of visitors to remote places. These rural murals make a great excuse to jump in the car and explore Australia’s sweeping plains and far horizons, so check these ones out.
Silo Art Trail, Victoria
Western Victoria’s Wimmera has expansive wheat fields dotted with interesting, historic towns enlivened by some serious artwork adorning the silos that tower above the flatness. The Silo Art Trail spans 200 kilometres starting at Rupanyip, about 300km west of Melbourne. There, Russian artist Julia Volchkova painted likenesses of two young local sportspeople. Keep heading north to see silo murals at Brim, Rosebery, Lascelles and Sheep Hills until you reach the final goal of Patchewollock in the Mallee and Fintan Magee’s towering portrayal of a local farmer.
Weethalle Silo Art, New South Wales
The little town of Weethalle recently got into the art silo act by commissioning a stunning mural on its triple towers in the middle of town. Where’s that, you say? Weethalle is in central NSW, a little past West Wyalong and a good 550km from Sydney. The townsfolk chose Melbourne’s Heesco Khosnaran to do a full size mural of a shearing shed and wheat farmer. It’s big, colourful and it has definitely put Weethalle on the map. Also check out the Royal Hotel, the historic Whistlestop train station and the tiny museum.
Kimba Silos (and more), South Australia
Possibly one of Australia’s most spectacular pieces of large-scale public art was completed in the small town of Kimba late last year. The six-pack of 30 metre high silos has a colourful painting of a young girl at sunset, and you can see it if you’re on the way to the Nullarbor Plain. Alternatively, there’s the more beachy depiction of kids leaping into water at Tumby Bay, or the almost wistful paintings of kids on Coonalpyn’s monolithic grain storage towers.
Thallon Silos, Queensland
Take a couple of Brisbane street artists, transport them 550km west of the city to the sleepy outback town of Thallon, give them 500 litres of paint and a 30 metre high concrete canvas and what do you get? The whimsical, colourful silo by Travis “Drapl” Vinson and Joel “The Zookeeper” Fergie. The murals with their bushland, sheep and parrots against a blazing sunset are the perfect fusion of city art in a monolithic country setting.
Public Silo Trail, Western Australia
Northam, about 90 minutes east of Perth, is arguably the birthplace of Australian silo art, given its grain storage units were painted back in 2015 – and with cartoon-style pictures on one side and huge splashes of colour on the other they are spectacular. Since then, the FORM organization has helped expand the number of painted silos with some incredible artworks in towns such as Ravensthorpe, Merredin and Newdegate. Next on the list: a series of silos at Pingrup, about 350km southeast of Perth.
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