Quorn Silo Light Show attraction among winners of Tourism Awards for Public Art programs

The recent Australian Street Art Awards - a Tourism Awards for Public Art program - have recognised 29 public art experiences as the best in the country for art-loving tourists. Arts tourists from within Australia are high value visitors – they stay almost one-and-a-half times longer and spend about one-and-a-half times more per day than domestic tourists overall, according to an Australia Council for the Arts’ Domestic Art Tourism: Connecting the Country Report.

The nightly light show created by Illuminart in Quorn’s Railway Precinct in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges, secured a Gold Award for Best Mega Mural. The free nightly spectacular features animated stories about the surrounding Flinders Ranges' history, wildlife and culture and displays every night of the year. Visitors can watch from seats, bring their own chairs, or tune in and watch from their cars.

The Gold Award winners of the 2022 Australia Street Art Awards also include a memorial to the bravery witnessed at one of Australia’s deadliest train disasters, and a country street art trail created by homegrown volunteers.

Heading the list of the winners was ‘Dyipni - Da King of Da Road’, a tractor that has been transformed into a vibrant tribute by 14 Filipino emigrants living in WA’s agricultural heartland. It was announced as the Best of the Best winner after taking out Gold in the Best Landmark Sculpture category earlier in the evening.

The Best of the Best is handed to the Gold Winner which impressed the judges the most, as determined by the highest cumulative score from all category winners.

The Australian Street Art Awards encourages Australians to explore the world-class street and public art that is accessible all year round and found in every corner of the country.

With rigorous judging by tourism and public art leaders from across Australia, plus second-tier auditing and due diligence, a win has the credence of the art tourism sector.

Awards Director Liz Rivers noted “These 29 winners contribute significantly to making Australia a more vibrant, creative and interesting country – somewhere visitors want to explore more keenly.”

“Smart communities promote their street and outdoor art as a unique landmark – an attraction that visitors can see in only one place, and that makes their destination immediately identifiable, highly attractive and a drawcard for art-loving tourists.

“Investing in outdoor art as an attraction mechanism also makes economic sense as art is typically less expensive to create than more traditional tourism attractions while the pay-off is handsome.”

The Awards presentation also included the announcement of the recipient of the second annual Outstanding Contribution to Australian Art Tourism Award. Granted to a person who has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to transform one or more destinations through outdoor art, the accolade recognises the personal commitment necessary to ‘make street art happen’.

The 2022 recipient is Cindi Drennan, Founder and Artistic Director of Illuminart, a South Australian arts company that integrates community engagement within high quality projection arts, architectural projection and audio-visual storytelling experiences. Remote and regional communities across Australia have benefitted from Drennan’s business innovation over the past 16 years and her filmmaking, illustration, animation and interactive media expertise.

All 2022 Gold winners are:

Best of the Best: ‘Dyipni--Da King of Da Road’, various artists (The Horsepower Highway, WA)

Best Entrance Art: ‘The Last Lion’, Sophi Odling and Christina Huynh (Burwood Chinatown Precinct Project, Sydney NSW)

Best External Mural: 'Sanctum', Andrew Bourke and Jesse Bell (Darwin NT)

Best Landmark Sculpture: ‘Dyipni--Da King of Da Road’, 14 Filipino metal workers (The Horsepower Highway, WA)

Best Mega Mural: Quorn Silo Light Show, Illuminart (Southern Flinders Ranges SA)

Best Monument or Memorial: Southern Aurora Memorial Violet Town, Tim Bowtell, Lach Cummings and Chris Mann (Violet Town VIC)

Best Rural Art: Bute Silo Art, Scott Nagy and Krimsone (Top of the Yorke SA)

Best Sculpture Park or Trail: Hello Koalas Sculpture Trail, various (Greater Port Macquarie NSW)

Best Street Art Festival or Event: SWELL Sculpture Festival 2022, various (Gold Coast QLD)

Best Street Art Laneway: Banna Lane, various (Griffith NSW)

Best Street Art Tour: Frankston Street Art Walking Tours, various (Frankston VIC)

Best Street Art Trail: Tongala Street Art Trail, Tongala volunteer artists (Goulburn Valley VIC)

2022 Silver winners are:

Best Entrance Art: ‘Darwin Didgeridoo’, Anthony Duwan Lee (Darwin Airport NT)

Best External Mural: ‘Nonna's Table’, Claire Foxton (Griffith NSW)

Best Landmark Sculpture: ‘The Big Koala, Spirit of All Koalas’, Pauline Roods and John Belfield (Greater Port Macquarie NSW)

Best Mega Mural: Bute Silo Art, Scott Nagy and Krimsone (Top of the Yorke SA)

Best Monument or Memorial: Wandoan Soldier Settlers Precinct, various (Western Downs QLD)

Best Rural Art: ‘Digging up the Past’, The Zookeeper and DRAPL (Hughenden QLD)

Best Street Art Festival or Event: Banna Lane Festival, various (Griffith NSW)

Best Street Art Laneway: Austin Lane, various (Darwin NT)

Best Street Art Tour: Oh Hey WA NMBW Street Art Tour (Perth WA)

Best Street Art Trail: The Maryborough Mural Project, various (Fraser Coast QLD)

2022 Bronze winners are:

Best External Mural: ‘Painting Our Future’, Julian Clavijo and Camilo Delgado (Hastings VIC)

Best Landmark Sculpture: ‘Let's Get Crabby, in a Big Way’, Brendon Tohill (Capricorn Coast QLD)

Best Mega Mural: ‘Stay Grounded’, Kitt Bennett (Darwin NT)

Best Monument or Memorial: ‘Neighbour’, Jesse Belle (Katherine NT)

Best Rural Art: ‘The Golden Clydesdale’, Dylan Butler (Coobowie SA)

Best Street Art Festival or Event: No More Blank Walls Street Art Festival, Blank Walls (Osborne Park WA)

Best Street Art Laneway: Bidencopes Lane, various (Hobart TAS)

Best Street Art Trail: Little Finds, various (Kalgoorlie-Boulder WA