Explore the world’s largest outdoor gallery right here in Australia that stretches over 7,500 kilometres from one end to the other
Western Australia
The Australian Silo Art Trail all began in March 2015 when FORM, a Western Australian not-for-profit cultural organisation, decided to paint the CBH grain silos in the wheatbelt town of Northam. This innovative concept was the beginning of the PUBLIC Silo Trail in Western Australia and was to set a trend in motion that would engage four other states across Australia and countless towns and communities.
The PUBLIC Silo Trail prides itself for taking art out of galleries and for making it large, bold and visible for miles around. It has taken art to remote locations where the mural stands tall and proud telling the story of its community and surround area.
Like most states of Australia, Western Australia has many grain silos with their six featured in the collection chosen with careful consideration.
The invisible legacy, which is just as powerful, is the chance for the tight-knit communities to build a cultural tourism experience which captures the hearts and imaginations of every visitor to these towns and more importantly a sense of community pride.
At the completion of their six set of silos in Pingrup in September 2018, the PUBLIC Silo Trail in Western Australia announced that their trail was complete.
Northam Silo Art
Northam is a heritage listed town that sits on the banks of the Avon River, 97 km North East of Perth. Two internationally acclaimed artists were engaged to paint the first ever silos in Australia. Phlegm from the UK and Hense from the US.
The Northam CBH Group silos is a fully operational site and one of the busiest in Western Australia too, but work continued on as normal, trucks coming and going, as both artists continued to paint. Each artist painted four of the massive 16 grain holding complex with Phlegm completing the left and Hense completing the right.
Phlegm’s work depicts his signature whimsical characters in fantastical transportation devices down each silo. Northam has a rich history in ballooning so he may have drawn his inspiration for his Leonardo Da Vinci style devices from this.
Hense has painted his silos simultaneously. Working across all four silos as one, each design bleeds into the other to produce his customary abstract patterns in explosive blocks of fluoro colour.
The silos took over sixteen days to complete, used around seven hundred and forty litres of paint and were completed in March 2015.
When visiting these silos, please remember to park in the designated car park and do not approach any closer than legally allowed.
Ravensthorpe Silo Art
Ravensthorpe is a town located 541 km south east of Perth with a strong history of mining and agriculture.
Ravensthorpe is in the Fitzgerald Biosphere Reserve where it is reputed that more plants grow here in comparison to its size than any other similar area in the world. A part of this are the wonderful wildflowers that appear each spring.
In September 2016, the second set of silos joined the PUBLIC Silo Trail in Western Australia. Drawing inspiration from the abundance of wildflowers in the area artist Amok Island painted the six stages of ‘Banksia baxteri’.
Each of the three silo cells is painted back and front portraying a different stage of the flowering cycle of this species of Banksia; from flower buds, to full bloom, to seedpods developing, drying out and opening.
This particular species of Banksia is native to Western Australia and only between Esperance and Albany. The animals depicted in the murals are the Honey Possum and the New Holland Honey Eater, both of which are the main pollinators for this plant.
It took Amok Island 31 days to complete the silo art using approximately 338 litres of paint.
The Ravensthorpe silo art complex is fully operational with a designated viewing area out the front. By walking along the side fences, you can see and photograph the silos on both sides.
Merredin Silo Art
Merredin is a town located in the central wheatbelt region of Western Australia and is roughly 260 km north east of Perth. It’s a farming town with a rich history in grain growing.
The Merredin CBH Group silos are the largest grain storage bins in the southern hemisphere being 610 metres long and 59 metres high.
In August 2017, four of the eight silos cells were transformed by artist Kyle Hughes-Odgers, with artwork inspired by the local landscape and community.
Through his characteristic and geometric style, Kyle has depicted the importance of the agricultural industry to Merredin and the surrounding wheatbelt region. The colours he has used are taken directly from the wheatbelt’s natural environment; the burnt oranges, yellows, and the blues are from the landscape and sky.
The Merredin Silo Art was the third silo to join the PUBLIC Silo Trail in Western Australia with the project taking Kyle 14 days to complete. He used a total of 200 litres of paint, 80 rollers and 10 paint brushes. He worked in the beating sun and biting wind and worked around the clock to create his biggest canvas yet.
It’s also important to note that this is a fully operational site, the viewing area for these silos is located on Great Eastern Highway with pull over spots on each side of the road.
Albany Silo Art
Albany is a city at the southern tip of Western Australia, well known for its beaches, historic whaling industry and its deep connections to the ANZACs from World War 1.
Its shores are also the location of one of the greatest discoveries in Aquatic Zoology in 150 years.
The discovery of the Ruby Seadragon known for its unusual bright red colouring, is only the third species of sea dragon ever recorded in the world. Along with its leafy cousin this little-known star of the Indian Ocean became the inspiration for the PUBLIC Silo Trail in Western Australia’s fourth silos.
Painted by Yok and Sheryo in March 2018, the duo worked together to get this mega mural complete. Sheryo on the ground, mobile phone in hand, Yok perched 30 metres up in a boom lift following her every command as between the two of them they marked out the design of the artwork. From his close proximity to the silos, the scale and curvature of the “canvas” makes it impossible to visualise the intended design of the work, so Sheryo serves as his eyes.
With the outline complete, Yok and Sheryo spend a total of 17 days and 180 litres of paint rolling colour onto the silo walls.
The Albany silo complex is fully operational, fenced and is located in the heart of Albany’s busy port area. There is no public parking at the site, but parking is available a few metres up the road off Princes Royal Drive.
Newdegate Silo Art
Newdegate is a town in the Great Southern agricultural region, 399 km south-east of Perth. It is a very successful grain and sheep farming area and holds a machinery field day every year.
The Red-tailed Phascogale is a small, arboreal and carnivorous marsupial. Its distinctive tail grows up to 14.5 cm long and it is found mainly in the South West of Western Australia. Due to loss of habitat, foxes and feral cats it’s now an endangered species.
Drawing inspiration from this and other local fauna and flora in the area, artist Brenton See painted the fifth set of silos for the PUBLIC Silo Trail in Western Australia in May 2018.
The Newdegate Silos feature the Western Bearded Dragon, the Red- Tailed Phascogale, a thigh spotted tree frog, a Mallee fowl, which is another local bird of the area, and finally on the last silo is a symbolic depiction of the region. It features a shape resembling a drop of water, which is half-white and half-teal. The white represents the salt lakes in the area and the teal represents the freshwater lakes and the rain. In the background are coloured squares showing how the land appears from above, green for the bush land areas and brown, orange and red for the dirt and rocks.
There is ample parking at this site with a designated viewing area located a safe distance from this working silo complex.
Pingrup Silo Art
Pingrup is a small town in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, located 381 km south east of Perth. Primarily producing wheat and other cereal crops it’s also known for its pink lakes and its famous country Pingrup Races.
What started out in 1919 as good old fashioned Picnic Races and later Sports and Foot Races in 1950, over time the whole concept was changed to the Pingrup Races that we know today.
Inspired by the history of Pingrup, artist Evoca1 painted the last and final silos in the PUBLIC Silo Trail in Western Australia, creating an artwork for a community that reflects the members of the community.
Featured on the silos are figurative depictions of the town’s iconic Pingrup races, its Merino sheep, its people, cattle dogs and even the blue tractor found in the main street of town.
Completed in September 2018, Evocal1 took 15 days to complete the murals and he used 230 litres of paint.
There is a designated parking area opposite the fully operational silo complex. It’s a quiet location in a small country town.
Fact File
Location:
The 976 km PUBLIC Silo Trail in Western Australia links towns of Northam, Merredin, Newdegate, Ravensthorpe, Pingrup, Katanning (street art town) and Albany. The trail may be travelled from the north or the south.
Useful websites:
www.australiansiloarttrail.com
When to visit:
Anytime of the year. Although summer can be hotter in the north and winter in the south very cold. The best times are Autumn and Spring.
South Australia
The South Australia Silo Art Trail is not presently governed by an official trail organisation, each town is independently promoting on their own. There are currently seven completed silos in the South Australian Silo Trail with many more towns gazetted as future silo art locations.
Coonalpyn Silo Art
Coonalpyn is a town located in the Coorong District, 143 km south east of Adelaide. Driven by the need to boost tourism in their area the ‘Creating Coonalpyn Initiative’ was established in 2016 as a joint project of the Council with key partners Country Arts SA and Viterra.
As part of this initiative the Viterra Silos at Coonalpyn were painted by artist Guido van Helten in March 2017. Mr van Helten randomly chose five Coonalpyn Primary School children to be the subjects of the mural.
Titled ‘Hope for the future’ the silos are a magnificent tribute the five Coonalpyn Primary School children, whose images will now live on in the history of the town forever. The lucky five were six-year-olds Kiarah Leske and Blake Thompson, five-year-olds Macey Jacobs and Reef Gregor and nine-year-old Ciara Johnson. The children are in various poses with two children looking to be actually drawing onto the face of two of the silos.
The mural took 200 paint cans and six weeks to complete. There is an abundance of parking at this site for all size vehicles.
Kimba Silo Art
Kimba is a pioneering town that was established in 1915. It’s located at the hallway mark across Australia on the Eyre Highway right at the top of the Eyre Peninsula.
It’s surrounded by endless wheat farms growing golden in the sunlight; which was the inspiration for the concept behind the silo art.
The Viterra Silos at Kimba were painted by artist Cam Scale in September 2017. The mural stretches over five and a half silos, standing proudly at over 60m wide and 25m high and depicts a young girl standing in a wheat field. She is overlooking a magnificent purple sunset viewed through endless wheat fields which blend into the real thing behind the silos.
It took the artist 26 days to complete using 200 litres of paint. There is a designated viewing area available for this fully operational silo complex, with easy roadside parking.
Tumby Bay Silo Art
Tumby Bay is a coastal town situated on the Spencer Gulf, on the eastern coast of Eyre Peninsula, 45 km north of Port Lincoln. It’s known for its pristine foreshore, fishing activities and its iconic jetty.
In April 2018 the town of Tumby Bay went through a transition and decided to ‘Colour Tumby’ by beautifying the town with street art painted by international and renowned Australian artists. A part of that transformation was the painting of the Viterra grain silos.
Internationally acclaimed Argentinian artist Martin Ron has painted an interpretation of two boys jumping off the Tumby Bay Jetty, inverted and flying high in the sky.
The overall inspiration for silo art comes from a photograph taken by a local photographer Robert Lang. The image is of two boys, Eli Carmody and Morris Webb jumping off the jetty on a hot summer’s afternoon in January 2014.
The Tumby Bay silo complex is operational. It has a purpose-built viewing area attached to a very large car park.
Wirrabara Silo Art
Wirrabara is a town located in the Southern Flinders Ranges in the mid north of South Australia. The Horrocks highway passes through town and it also sits on along the Rocky River.
In April 2018 Sam Bates, or as he is otherwise known ‘Smug’ visited the town of Tumby Bay during the ‘Colour Tumby Street Art Festival’. It was here that Smug met the organiser of the festival Dion Lebrun. The local Wirrabara Community did not want a local resident painted on their silos, so Smug chose Dion Lebrun to be the inspiration for this silo.
The artwork also depicts the rich history of the area which has strong ties to the forestry industry as well as referencing the beautiful local flora and fauna for which the area is also well known.
The Viterra Silos at Wirrabara took Smug three weeks to complete in October 2018.
Verge side parking is available only at this site.
Waikerie Silo Art
Waikerie is a rural town in the Riverland region of South Australia. It is prolific with unique and diverse birdlife and it has the wonderful Murray River right at its doorstep, with some of the remotest stretches of river in its area.
Two artists met in Waikerie in December 2018 to paint twin silos on both sides. These artists were Jimmy D’Vate and Garry Duncan.
Taking inspiration from their surroundings and choosing a silo each to work on, the Viterra Silos at Waikerie were soon transformed into a mega masterpiece.
Titled ‘Health River, Healthy Community’ Jimmy D’Vate, chose to feature on his silo local native flora and fauna, including a giant Yabby and the endangered Regent Parrot. Jimmy has also included other endangered species like the Murray Hardyhead and the Spiny Daisy.
On Garry’s silo he has painted a giant, semi-abstract river landscape and has included many quirky, local, native river creatures, like assorted birds, frogs, fish and turtles. Garry has also featured the Rainmoth, which is where the town of Waikerie gets its name.
Both artists used exterior enamel paints, Garry exclusively, while Jimmy mainly used aerosol spray cans. The art work took 16 weeks to complete and used nearly 500 litres of paint.
This site is no longer operational and does have a large car park attached.
Karoonda Silo Art
Karoonda is in the middle of the Murray Mallee region of South Australia and was founded on wheat farming, but cleared land also for raising merino sheep. So proud of this fact, that the Karoonda community even installed a giant ram in its main street to emphasize this.
Artist Heesco Khosnaran was chosen to paint the Viterra Silos at Karoonda and drew inspiration for his mural from Karoonda’s farming heritage. It features Merino sheep, a kelpie working dog, picturesque bush setting and an historic steam train.
With an Australian Silo Art Trail first, the Karoonda silo complex offers mural art by day and evening illuminated projections at night making it a spectacular attraction to be enjoyed both day and night.
Taking over four weeks to complete the Karoonda silos joined the Australian Silo Art Trail in June 2019.
Cowell Silo Art
Cowell is a coastal town on the eastern side of the Eyre Peninsula. It’s 184 km south of Port Augusta at sits on the shores of the Franklin Harbour. It is the centre of an agricultural district for wheat and sheep farming and has an industry around oyster farming too.
In September 2019, artist NITSUA! painted the Viterra Silos at Cowell.
The star of the silos is local identity Lionel Deer and his camel Diamantina. Mr Deer is most known in the Cowell community for bringing his camels to the Cowell Christmas Pageant for over 30 years.
He stirs up a sense of nostalgia for many Cowell residents as he forms a rich part of Cowell’s history.
Also depicted on the silos is a Port Lincoln Parrot and a nearby farmhouse ruin. These silos took NITSUA! three weeks to complete
Fact File
Location:
The 1047 km South Australian Silo Art Trail links the towns of Kimba, Tumby Bay, Cowell, Wirrabara, Waikerie, Karoonda and Coonalpyn. The trail is best commenced at either Kimba or Coonalpyn.
Useful websites:
www.australiansiloarttrail.com
www.viterra.com.au/index.php/supporting-our-communities/
www.tumbybay.town/colourtumbystreetartfestival
www.coorong.sa.gov.au/creatingcoonalpyn
When to visit:
Anytime of the year with the best times being Autumn and Spring.