neda.nikolic
Updated: Jun 9, 2022
Melbourne is internationally acclaimed as one of the world's great street art destinations but there is much amazing street art to be enjoyed outside the metropolitan area. In this post, I will share with you a few of the regional street art treasures that the country Victoria has to offer. This is by no means an extensive list...more of a journey so far. Journey that my family has had to endure with me ...but I am convinced (fingers and toes crossed!) that very soon, they will be hooked just as I am.
The highest concentration of street art in the country Victoria is in the northern region, approximately 250 km from Melbourne. Add these locations to your street art bucket list:
Benalla
Goorambat
Devenish
Tungamah
Winton wetlands
Some of these locations are small rural villages but do not let that discourage you as what you'll find there is well worth the travel.
All photos in this story are mine, @virusfreak79
Benalla has been hosting the annual Wall to Wall festival since 2015 and is home to some of the best street art in the country! Allow yourself at least one full day to explore all the amazing art the town has to offer. Walking maps, artist, and mural information can be found here: Wall to Wall Murals
Here is a teaser of what awaits you:
Featured - Art by @fintan_magee, @23rdkey, @adnate, @andrew_j_bourke, @adnate, @odeith, and @r_o_n_e.
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Goorambat grain silos were painted by the Melbourne artist Dvate @dvate as part of the 2018 Wall to Wall festival. The artwork depicts the regional landscape and a striking portrait of Millie - the Australian Barking Owl. Barking Owls are listed as endangered species in Victoria. The main threat to the species is loss of habitat, especially large trees with hollows, in which they nest.
RELATED POST: The Silo Art Trails
Before you leave Goorambat, make sure you stop by the local church. This is probably the last place you would expect to find a masterpiece by an internationally renowned street artist. Goorambat Uniting Church is home to the beautiful 'Sophia', painted by Adnate @adnate for the 2017 Wall to Wall Festival.
To mark the centenary of the end of WWI and pay tribute to the large contingency of local residents that served during the war, the community of Devenish commissioned the Melbourne artist Cam Scale @camscale to paint the town's decommissioned Grain Corp silos. The artwork depicts a WWI nurse and today's combat medic - a tribute to the changing role of women in the military and society.
Winton wetlands are a location of one of the world's most significant environmental, social and economic renewal projects. Hidden in this surreal landscape of dead river red gum stags are 3 portraits painted on a concrete water tank. The portraits are of 3 Country Fire Authority (CFA) volunteers, painted by Guido van Helten @guidovanhelten, as part of the 2017 Wall to Wall Festival.
Murals on the silos at Tungamah were painted by the Broome artist Sobrane @sobrane in early 2018 and depict a kookaburra and three dancing brolgas. Make sure you walk around the back of the silos, along the railway track, so you don't miss the third dancing brolga.
I hope this story has inspired you to take a journey Down Under and visit northern Victoria! Get out there and create your own memories :)
Happy hunting!
Neda