Art calendar raises thousands for country attractions

LOCAL communities are set to receive more than $4000 each, thanks to sales from a calendar featuring the towns' silo art pieces. The inaugural calendar was a smash hit, and allowed each of the towns featured to receive a cut of the profits, totalling just over $4000 per community for maintenance or the commission of more silo art murals. Towns to receive this boon include Devenish, St James and Goorambat, three stops on the North East Art Trail. The North East Art Trail is a tourist loop linking six towns around the North East area, exhibiting stunning artwork painted on the sides of grain silos. A partnership between the North East Art Trail and the Australian Silo Trail Group allowed for the production of calendars, featuring breathtaking photographs of these titans. The calendar was the brainchild of self-styled regional tourism ambassadors Annette Green and Damian Modra, who wanted to promote and celebrate these incredible artistic monuments and the towns they reside in. “In those crazy COVID-19 lockdown periods, everyone involved in tourism industries had been hit hard, so Annette and I wanted to coordinate our efforts to promote regional tourism ready for when we could travel again, and also offer some financial support for the communities that had worked hard to have their local silos painted,” Mr Modra said. Ms Green said the undertaking was a logistical struggle. “Planning and designing the calendar took a lot of effort,” she said. “Not only did we need to source great photos, we also needed to meet all copyright laws and artist moral rights by seeking approval from the artists and silo owners to use their creative art work for our calendar. “Permission was granted on the proviso that we would donate 50 per cent of the profits from the sale of the calendar, directly to the towns that will be featured.” Each of the town’s silo art follows a unique theme, personal to the town. Devenish’s murals focus on the town’s military history, with beautiful depictions of nurses and a tribute to the Australian Light Horse. The silos of Goorambat depict the fragility of nature and endangered animals, most prominently the area’s “farming backbone”, the Clydesdale horses; namely the town’s most famous Clydesdales, Clem, Sam and Banjo. The four St James silos feature an aspect of the town’s history that would go on to be known throughout the country, as St James was the site of the first Coles store. All of the towns plan to use the funds to commission more artwork that will align with their respective themes. For more information on the silos, the artists, or the North East Art Trail, visit nearttrail.org.au.

Art calendar raises thousands for country attractions

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