That is the title of the latest story I’ve written for On The Road magazine, spring 2022 edition.

The story looks at how silo art has taken off in Australia, with more than 50 once drab and neglected concrete silos and other structures, now sporting a new coat of paint, which in the process has given some of their communities a new lease of life.

Not only are they pretty to look at, they all tell a tale of the people, history, landmarks, nature and heart of the communities that they sit in. These massive works of art have helped to bring travellers to the towns and areas where they’re situated and in doing so, it has had the knock on effect of more money being spent in the regions.

 Some of the silos also have features that differ from day to night, have floodlighting to change their appearance or have night projections on them, which encourage visitors to stay in the towns overnight or longer. The more people who visit, take photos and post on social media, the more popular they become.

I know it’s worked on me. I’ve often planned our road trip routes around where some silo art (or other street art) is, based on photos I’ve seen, and they’re never disappointing. No matter how many I’ve seen I’m always blown away by the scale of the work and the incredible abilities of the artists in bringing such realism to these hard structures.

That brings me to another story that also appears in the same magazine, which gives the artists perspective on what it’s like to paint these sometimes, 30 metre high canvases. The story is called, Silo Art: An artist’s perspective and has photos supplied by Sam Brooks, the artist responsible for the painted silos in Eudunda South Australia.

Learning how the process of painting silos works from one of the artists was an absolute eye opener and gives me even greater respect for the time and research that goes into these projects.

Both of these stories came about after I was approached by the people behind the Australian Silo Art Trail, to write some articles on their behalf for a number of print and online publications. As well as promoting tourism to see silo art around Australia, something which I can highly recommend, I am advocating for travellers to stay in the towns and regions with silo art and support them by spending our time and money while we’re there.

If that’s not possible, there is another way people can lend their support and that’s by purchasing a silo art calendar from Australiansiloart.com and when you do, you not only get a beautiful calendar which is designed and printed in Australia, but you’ll also be helping rural communities. From the sales of calendars, 50% of the profits will go back to the 12 communities featured inside.

The spring edition of On The Road magazine is out now at newsagents or you can subscribe online and hopefully you’ll be inspired to visit some silo art as part of your next road trip.

Enjoy

Glenys