Yelarbon silos named Best Rural Art in Australia

The GrainCorp silos at Yelarbon were named the ‘Best Rural Art’ in the nation at the Australian Street Art Awards on the Sunshine Coast on Tuesday night. As one of the biggest murals in Australia, When the Rain Comes also received the bronze prize in the highly coveted ‘Best Mega Mural’ category.

The 96-metre-long silo artwork in Yelarbon impressed the judges, who said, “This mural is contributing significantly to making Australia a more vibrant, creative and interesting country – somewhere visitors will want to explore more keenly.”

The Australian Street Art Awards encourages Australians to explore the world-class street and public art that is safely accessible all year round and found in every corner of the country. With rigorous judging by tourism leaders from across Australia and abroad, plus second-tier auditing and due diligence, Yelarbon’s wins have the credence of the art tourism sector.

Arts tourists from within Australia are high value visitors – they stay 42.8% longer and spend 55.9% more when travelling than domestic tourists overall, according to the Australia Council for the Arts’ Domestic Art Tourism 2020 Report.

Mayor of the Goondiwindi region the Honourable Cr Lawrence Springborg AM said his own connection to Yelarbon made him especially proud of the town’s national recognition.

“I am very proud to have grown up here in Yelarbon, so to see the silos win not one but two awards and take the title of Best Rural Art in Australia really is an honour for our little town,” the Mayor said. “I want to thank my fellow residents for their involvement, and the steering committee for their efforts in turning a vision into reality.

“This win further cements the region’s reputation on the national silo art trail and proves that small country towns really do have lots to give on the national scale. The Goondiwindi region’s motto is that we are ‘Regional Australia at its best,’ and I think Yelarbon being named as the Best Rural Art in the country proves just that.”

The eight large GrainCorp silos, two large and six smaller ones, together create the 1,800-square-metre canvas for what has become one of the largest artworks in Australia. The mural was painted by The Brightsiders and depicts Yelarbonʼs freshwater lagoon - an idyllic oasis dotted with water lilies where a child plays with paper sailing boats.

The judges were impressed with the mural’s details, and the way that Council utilised these to help promote other aspects of the region. They also applauded Council’s co-operative marketing initiative with the Thallon Graincorp Silo Art, last year’s Best Rural Art winner, to create a street art trail between the regions.

Awards Director, Liz Rivers, added, “Australia has a long history of creating superlative public art that captivates visitors. Until these Awards were launched in 2019, though, there had never been a way of rewarding and supporting places like Yelarbon that created these art-related experiences for travellers. The Australian Street Art Awards remedied that shortcoming,” she said.

Cr Springborg said the Goondiwindi region would warmly welcome arts visitors who want to make the journey to experience the winning Yelarbon silo art for themselves.

“If you’ve not yet had a chance to experience the sheer scale of the Yelarbon silos, now is absolutely the time to visit the Goondiwindi region and see them for yourself,” the Mayor said.

L to R:  David Cooper, Terri-Ann Crothers & Will Officer

Photo taken by Bruce Haggie