How Did The Silo Art Movement Begin?

The very first silo art mural was a pilot project in March 2015 by a cultural non-profit called FORM who wanted to bring art to rural communities. Together with the CBH grain handler two internationally renowned street artists Phlegm & HENSE were engaged to paint the grain silos in Northam, in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt.

It was such a great hit that a full trail of 6 silos were planned. The Public Silo Trail of Western Australia was a three year project that brought this permanent, open-air, truly PUBLIC ‘gallery’ linking rural and coastal towns across Western Australia’s southern regions. A game changer for bringing renewed emphasis to the positive perceptions of the regions, their people and industries, and the unique canvas they provide.

In Victoria’s Wimmera Mallee region, a similar idea was conceived in 2016 after the success of the first silo artwork in Brim. What started as a small community project by the Brim Active Community Group, GrainCorp, Juddy Roller and artist, Guido van Helten resulted in widespread international media attention. The Wimmera Mallee Silo Art Trail was created as a partnership between Yarriambiack Shire Council, international street art agency Juddy Roller, Victorian Government, Australian Government and GrainCorp, who donated the silos as canvases for the artists’ work.

This project saw a team of renowned artists from Australia and across the world visit the region, meet the locals and transform each grain silo into an epic work of art; each one telling a unique story about the host town.

Soon, many other regional towns across the country were angling for their own silo to be beautified, and for the visitors and rural revitalisation it would bring.