Painting towns back to life!
Rural Australia is turning into one big gallery, thanks to regional artists
Driving to North Queensland on a work trip, Liz Rivers and Kim Morgan were surprised by what they saw on the way.
“There were murals and roadside sculptures everywhere,” Liz, who works in tourism, tells Woman’s Day. “They were great but nobody could tell us about them.”
The pair (above right), from the Sunshine Coast, understood the challenges regional and rural areas faced when it came to attracting visitors and the trip led them to create the Australian Street Art Awards. “We created 11 different categories and the art entered could be new or existing. It just had to satisfy two criteria – the destination needed to be promoting it to attract visitors and the art had to engage the local community,” Liz explains.
An example is the Watering Hole silo mural at Thallon in Queensland. “The town even created an event, Grazing at the Watering Hole, to attract tourists and bring the small community of 300 together.”
Now in its fourth year, the awards have attracted huge attention and are helping drive tourism. “People want to see these sculptures, which are often in incredible places right in the middle of nowhere. It’s about letting them know they’re there!”