Painting ready to start on Kaniva silos

Published on 02 October 2020

Kaniva will soon be home to a new art installation, with the GrainCorp silos in town to join the national silo art trail.

A series of silo art projects in West Wimmera Shire officially kicked off last week, with western Victorian artist Geoffrey Carran starting work, painting GrainCorp’s silos at Goroke.

Kaniva residents will soon see their own mural come to life, with Melbourne artist David Lee Pereira ready to start painting.

David is a studio and mural artist who has worked on a range of public art installations throughout Melbourne, Sydney and Berlin. He also painted the GrainCorp silos at Merriwa in NSW in 2019.

David will incorporate Wimmera flora and fauna in his mural, reflecting on the rare beauty of the landscape and uniqueness of the town. He has a self-professed love of flowers and the baroque style.

The site at Kaniva includes three concrete silos on which the new artwork will be a prominent feature for the town to enjoy.

Council chief executive David Leahy said it was exciting to see both the Kaniva and Goroke silo art projects come to life.

“Residents in these towns will have a front row seat to the action and will be able to see these fantastic murals be painted,” he said.

“We hope these projects will encourage tourists to come and visit our beautiful part of the world, especially once COVID-19 restrictions have eased.”

The project was delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions on travel in Victoria.

GrainCorp’s Corporate Affairs Manager Jess Simons said every silo artwork was unique to the town.

“We’re excited to be working with David Lee Pereira again and it’s been fantastic to work alongside West Wimmera Shire Council, to help bring the community’s vision to life,’ she said.

“We have seen firsthand the benefits these visually inspiring community projects bring to regional towns and GrainCorp is pleased to contribute the canvas.”

Council is delivering this project on behalf of the Kaniva community, which was successful in getting funding through the state government’s Pick My Project campaign.

The Kaniva and District Progress Association submitted the Kaniva project to the campaign.

The new artworks will also be integrated with Wimmera Mallee Tourism’s augmented reality app, which profiles other silo art locations in Victoria.

Anyone planning on visiting the site to see painting in action must abide by all safety measures in place, including exclusion zones. The best place to view the silos being painted is from Band Park in Progress Street, Kaniva.