The PUBLIC Silo Trail has created artworks by local and international artists on public walls and grain silos across Western Australia. Photo courtesy of CBH.
Over the past three years the trail has put regional Western Australia up in lights, bringing murals to grain silos, public walls and transformer boxes in country towns across the state.
Lynda Dorrington, FORM’s executive director, said the fifth project in the unfolding trail would create a 35-meter-high ephemeral artwork across the four western facing silos at CBH Group’s Albany Grain Terminal Ports depot and a series of murals on Western Power transformer boxes throughout the town, as well as facilitating engagement workshops with local youth.
“The PUBLIC Silo Trail celebrates the natural and industrial assets that make regional Western Australian towns iconic destinations and promotes these communities as vital and vibrant contributors to Australia’s cultural identity,” Dorrington said. “Ultimately the trail will engage a new community around this uniquely Western Australian experience and lead to new opportunities for economic diversification as a result of increased visitation.”
The PUBLIC Silo Trail has so far created artworks by local and international artists on public walls, CBH Group grain silos and Western Power electrical transformer boxes in Northam, Ravensthorpe, Merredin and Katanning.
FORM has partnered with CBH Group, Western Power, Lotterywest, and with the Australian government though the Building Better Regions Fund on the project, marking the contribution these organizations make to the lives of Western Australians.
Brianna Peake, CBH Group general manager for grower and external relations, said the Albany silos would be the first and only CBH grain port to be painted as part of the PUBLIC Silo Trail.
“CBH’s Albany terminal exports premium, high quality grain produced by our growers in the Albany zone to our customers across the world,” Peake said. “Given its important role in the network, the port is due for refurbishment work over the next five years, and while this means the mural may not be up for as long as our other sites, this is the pragmatic nature of using working infrastructure as an artist’s canvas and what makes this partnership so exciting.
“Bringing the silo trail to Albany this year will provide a fitting backdrop and an international drawcard during a significant period of cultural activity in the region. We’re pleased to support our Albany based grain growers and their community through high-profile arts and cultural projects such as this, and to see the economic benefits they will enjoy as a result.”
Guy Chalkley, CEO of Western Power, said the operator was excited to be partnering with FORM on a project that showcased their regional commitment beyond the services they provide.
“Our crews and their families live in this community, with our team members being actively involved in selecting sites for the project,” Chalkley said.
As part of the trail, story gathering and social documentary project Homegrown Stories has been collecting the stories of the people who call these towns home, creating a record that will reveal the human narrative behind our state’s regional towns and agricultural networks.
Community engagement and the selection of participating artists for the project is currently under way by FORM, CBH Group, Western Power and the City of Albany, and selected artists will be announced in February.
