Silo art alone will not automatically save local economies, and long-term plans for activating and developing both the site and town should be in place, a new Griffith Business School report recommends.
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Griffith Business School’s Amelia Green and Scott Weaven have released the first Australian Silo Art and Wellbeing report, based on more than 1100 responses to the first national silo art survey focusing on the experiences and perceptions of visitors, residents and local business owners.
Dr Green said while the report confirmed that silo art consistently attracts visitors, the extent to which it directly stimulates local economies and individual businesses varies widely across each of Australia’s silo art sites.
“What happens after visitors view silo art is shaped by what they interact with when they arrive,” she said.
Of the 183 local business owners surveyed, 64 per cent reported that silo art attracted customers to their businesses. Only 47 per cent responded that it had a noticeable positive impact overall on the businesses in their town.
“Whether an individual business benefits from silo art visitors depends on many factors, such as where the business is located within the town, if other businesses are closer to the silo art site and if the business offers facilities like toilets,” Dr Green said.
“While some business owners and managers attributed the survival of their business entirely to silo art visitors, others reported that silo art has made no difference to their trade.”
The report recommends that silo art towns provide up-to-date online information about the art, local businesses and opening hours to assist visitors with their trip planning.
Similar information should also be displayed at the silo art site with a map identifying walking or driving distances to local business and other nearby experiences.
“The perception amongst visitors that these towns want to attract tourists sets up their expectations when they arrive, and information before and during visits is crucial,” Dr Green said.
“The research shows a current disconnect between visitors eager to give back to local communities but frustrated when nothing is open, and business owners keen for more customers.”
Dr Green said silo art presented a “golden opportunity” economically, but the broader challenges lie in deepening the visitor experience, inspiring return visits and re-framing silo art as a launching pad for broader tourism strategies and revitalisation.
“Visitor awareness and attraction are two initial hurdles,” she said.
“The question then becomes, how do you make visitors fall in love with your town?”
The report also highlights that ongoing activation of existing sites and towns may require funding and collaboration with local councils, community groups, government, arts organisations and tourism bodies to address issues and opportunities.
When it comes to social impacts, the report found silo art benefits local communities by stimulating happiness through enjoyable interactions with high quality art (according to 70 per cent of all resident participants), beautification of the everyday environment (72 per cent) and reinforced or increased town pride (65 per cent).
Of the residents surveyed, 88 per cent consider silo art a worthwhile investment for regional Australian towns and communities. However, the report also found highly isolated cases of some residents experiencing adverse impacts associated with silo artworks that lack a connection to the local area.
“Visitors have come to expect that silo artworks represent the local community, so they naturally ask questions about the artwork when they arrive,” Dr Green said.
“Answering these questions can be difficult if the artwork depicts symbols or stories that are not present in the town.
“Forty-four per cent of the 714 visitors surveyed reported that they spend approximately between $11 and $50 in each town they visit for silo art. A further 25 per cent reported that they spend between $50 and $100.
“But participants repeatedly emphasised that the specific amount they spend varies depending, for instance, on what businesses are open and whether the silo art site is connected to a town or not.”
An Ode To Silo Art
By Joanne Carter
Awoke to a day that was cold and grey,
The clouds had chased the sun away,
This time behind the wheel I did get,
Since Kim hadn't fully woken up yet.
Drove down the highway, singing in the rain,
Looking for silos that used to hold grain,
Found three Clydesdales at Goorambat,
So very lifelike, how good was that.
Then on to Devenish, which was second,
Where a salute to our fallen proudly beckoned,
Next was St James in all its glory,
Telling of wheat and farmers and the Coles story.
Poor Tungamah's birds stood lost and alone,
The rain had sent the visitors home,
Finally, Deniliquin, and a nice warm bed,
T'was asleep before I lowered my head.
– From Australian Silo Art and Wellbeing report, August 2021
Shepparton News assistant editor and Country News journalist