ART-stralia Day

Being your average shut-in, it takes something special to get me off the couch for a long weekend. What better way to escape the mundanity of trawling Netflix and celebrate Australia Day by taking a roadtrip to the middle of this beautiful country of ours to see some amazing art.

So I headed to Victoria’s Wild West where artists have been utilising the decommissioned grain silos that are dotted across the plains of the Wimmera region. Beginning in the small town of Brim, the idea to paint massive murals on these remarkable structures was conceived by a group of its residents and brought to fruition by street (and silo) artist Guido van Helten.

With huge success in Brim the trail has expanded into what is now Australia’s largest outdoor gallery – stretching 200km with a total of 6 installations from street artists Fintan Magee, Rone, Adnate, Kaff-eine and Julia Volchkova.

Something even grander than these works is how they serve to revitalise the small towns they live in. Once slowly deteriorating towns are now seeing a relative beehive of activity and providing a new sense of hope for the people that live there. If there’s something to take away from this experience, it is that art does have the ability to change lives for the better in a meaningful way.

siloarttrail.com