Newdegate and Pingrup final sites in PUBLIC Silo Trail
Grain silos in Newdegate and Pingrup will become the final mural sites in FORM and CBH Group's PUBLIC Silo Trail, an outdoor art gallery drawing visitors to regional Western Australia. Artwork will commence at the Newdegate silos in late May, followed by Pingrup in the coming months.
Over the past three years, the trail has put country towns on the cultural map, bringing world-class murals to CBH Group grain silos, public walls and Western Power transformer boxes across the state, with silo artwork so far from Phlegm, HENSE, Amok Island, Kyle Hughes-Odgers and Yok & Sheryo.
As part of this trail, story-gathering and social documentary project Homegrown Stories has been capturing the evocative personal narratives and remarkable histories of the men and women growers, regional workers and local community champions in each of the towns on the trail. These stories will be presented on completion of the trail, shining a light on the people who make these regional towns what they are.
FORM’s Executive Director Lynda Dorrington said the PUBLIC Silo Trail had created world-class cultural tourism assets which literally and symbolically connect Western Australia’s agricultural trade routes across the State, linking Northam, Ravensthorpe, Merredin, Katanning and Albany.
"Culture and the arts have the capacity to enhance dynamism and create opportunities in regional Western Australia," Ms Dorrington said.
"The PUBLIC Silo Trail creates a legacy of permanent public artworks, landmarks in their own right which contribute to vibrancy, activation, visitation and opportunities in regional towns."
"FORM’s intention is to expand the potential of creativity and the visual arts to contribute to quality of life in the regions".
CBH Group General Manager Grower and External Relations Brianna Peake said the PUBLIC Silo Trail had been incredibly successful in drawing attention to regional WA.
“These projects have received world-wide attention and have added another drawcard for tourists to visit regional WA,” Ms Peake said.
“Three years ago we started this exciting journey of transforming some of CBH’s vast silo network transformed into the state’s largest installations of urban art.
“While the journey eventually has to come to an end, we’re proud to have been involved with this initiative and create opportunities for regional towns.”
Selection of artists for the large- scale commissions at Newdegate, the next site to receive an artwork is currently underway, and the chosen artist/s and commencement dates for the silo murals will be announced in the coming weeks.
For more information, visit publicsilotrail.com
This iteration of the PUBLIC Silo Trail is a partnership between FORM and CBH Group and is supported by a grant from the Australian Government through the Building Better Regions Fund and Lotterywest.