Across my home state of Victoria in Australia stand hundreds (possibly thousands) of silos that are used for short times each year during and after grain harvest. Many of them are abandoned now that the grain is trucked directly to port instead of travelling entirely by rail as it did in the past.
Many rural small towns suffer from a lack of travellers that can boost their local economies. In 2016 a group of people including local artist Guido van Helten painted a local silo in a town called Brim. This got so much attention that Yarriambiack Shire Council promoted an idea to create a trail of silos that would encourage visitors to the area and benefit both the towns the silos are in and the nearby communities. GrainCorp who owns many of the silos allowed some of them to be used as a canvas for these amazing works. Some of the artists are locals and some are infamous (sometimes even wanted) street artists who graffiti buildings. More recently other towns have started to get in on the act commissioning works within their own towns as the idea spreads across the state and in other states of Australia.
Over the past week my wife and I hooked up our trusty old 1977 Viscount Explorer caravan to the car and went bush we first visited the Grampians (I’ll make a post on that later) and then travelled the silo trail completing the run with visit to an old friend who had moved to the country and now owns a share of a pub before heading home via yet another art silo.
We did the trail from South to North (mostly) so the first we encountered was in Rupunyup and was painted by Julia Volchkova you can read more about this art work at http://siloarttrail.com/works/rupanyup/ and visit it on Google Maps at https://goo.gl/maps/KBHwFcDknvJ5jTiD6
Next up was Sheep Hills by Adnate you can read about this artwork at http://siloarttrail.com/works/sheep-hills/ and see it on Maps at https://goo.gl/maps/FMfrmKAH7mSFwzBW8
As we progressed northwards next was the original that started it all at Brim by Guido van Helten which you can read about at http://siloarttrail.com/works/brim/ and see on Maps at https://goo.gl/maps/zr3WgM687iXoYp7o8
Continuing north we come to Rosebery that despite its remoteness was once a centre of industry but sadly that is all gone. Just about all that is left of this town is this silo by Kaff-eine and lots of flies! You can read about the art at http://siloarttrail.com/works/rosebery/ and see it on Maps at https://goo.gl/maps/H4UDY3JRaQK8tpCh8
Next on the list is Lascelles by R_O_N_E who is famous for giant sultry faces on buildings all over the world and more recently the exhibition EMPIRE at an abandoned hotel named Burnham Beeches. You can read about this art at http://siloarttrail.com/works/lascelles/ and see it on Maps at https://goo.gl/maps/KEgM11Q5AztZyhNt9
Finally in this trail is Patchewollock by Fintan Magee which you can read about at http://siloarttrail.com/works/patchewollock/ and see on Maps at https://goo.gl/maps/ydQZEwYFhucMYnTQ8
Not part of the official trail, but also visited on this trip was Rochester by Jimmy DVate which you can read about at http://www.rochester.org.au/?p=335 and see on Maps at https://goo.gl/maps/PpMCLexU3JMn7DNx8
Naturally all of these silos and some others that I know about are on a Maps List https://goo.gl/maps/LgASgK9mqDdfPzFz5
I hope you enjoyed my photos. Chris and I did nearly 1,000km by car to bring these photos to you and both of us are active Local Guides and both contributed edits, additions, photos, and reviews for the places we visited and experienced during our trip.
Also thanks for sharing the artists links. No Banksy here I suppose;)