GRAIN silos at a GrainCorp site in the south west will become the first in Queensland to be painted with a mural.
The artwork craze has already become a major tourist attraction in southern states and will see Queensland street artists Travis Vinson and Joel Fergie paint a “dramatic view of life on the land” titled, The Watering Hole, on silos in Thallon, south of St George.
The silos are part of the town’s 300,000 tonne GrainCorp grain receival site.
Painting of the 30m x 40m canvas will begin on June 29 and is expected to take three weeks, with the final reveal on July 20.
Plans for the project began two years ago when the Thallon Progress Association wanted to reinvigorate the small drought stricken town.
Project manager Leanne Brosnan said it was exciting to finally see the project become a reality with contributions from the community both financially and through ideas and photographs.
“The whole community should be so proud of the project,” she said.
“As we have seen in Victoria, massive silo art has the power to transform a community and the broader region.”
The GrainCorp Thallon site was built in the mid-1970s and in the 1980s rail was added to connect the sit to a port. At last harvest the site received almost 290,000 tonnes of grain.
GrainCorp Queensland Regional Manager Brad Fosters said the company was delighted to be able to contribute to a visually inspiring and important community initiative, which will attract more visitors to the area.
The potential tourism possibilities was mirrored by Balonne Shire Mayor Richard Marsh who said council welcomed and encouraged projects that bring more tourists to the region
The project is funded by the Balonne Shire Council, Arts Queensland, GrainCorp, Taubmans, Rural Affinity Insurance and the Royal Flying Doctor Service - Drought and Wellbeing Program.