Walla could soon be the latest tourism stop on the national silo art trail, with the town exploring whether its abandoned silo or water tower could be turned into sky-high art.
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On Thursday, members of the community met to discuss whether the town would support the idea in principle.
Walla Walla community development committee secretary Leonie Carey said while it was still very early days, the proposal had garnered a lot of support in the small town.
She said the meeting was held to form a working group and discuss whether the proposal was worth exploring.
“It’s the inaugural meeting so we put the call out for people who were interested to explore the possibilities,” Mrs Carey said.
“It’s definitely not set in stone yet, we would need to work out if it’s viable.
“We need to work out the costings and decide what we want – it’s very early days.”
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If the idea proves workable, Walla could join an increasingly long list of regional towns benefiting from silo art tourism.
“Silo tours seem to be very popular,” Mrs Carey said.
“It’d bring people to the town, tourists, and people are always good for businesses, especially our local coffee shop and cafe would benefit.
“It would also improve the appearance of the silos...it would beautify the place.”
But there is plenty of work to do before any paint dries – or is even purchased.
Mrs Carey said after Thursday’s meeting, the committee would need to research artists, gain funding, work out who owns the land and talk to other towns where silo art had already proved popular.
The official Silo Art Trail originated in western Victoria’s small-town of Brim, when visiting artist Guido van Helten immortalised four Brim-residents on an abandoned silo.
Seeing the popularity and tourism benefits brought by the Brim silo work – Yarriambiack Shire Council, art agency Juddy Roller and GrainCorp along with the Victorian and federal governments devised and funded a 200-kilometre trail linking six Wimmera Mallee towns.
The project drew renowned street artists from across the globe and prompted towns across Australia to look at their abandoned silos and water towers in a new light and commission silo art of their own.
In February, Tungamah became the first town in the North East and Border region to join the silo art phenomena, with Western Australian artist Sobrane hoping the water tower and silo art would put town of under-400 people on the map.
Soon after, Melbourne artist Dvante painted a silo in Goorambat for Benalla’s Wall to Wall festival.
While on Anzac day Devenish’s war inspired mural was unveiled.
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