Benalla Street Art Festival 2024 -- Part 1

 The 2024 Benalla Street Art Festival commenced on Thursday 21st March and will run until Thursday 28th. After COVID and associated hold-ups there was great excitement in town when the 2024 edition finally got under way.

 This Festival is curated by Eddie Zammit and offers a new vision with  expanded offerings for all.

Fifteen artists from Australia and overseas will be transforming walls, some walls  previously not painted and some covering art from previous years. It is sometimes sad to see these go but that is the nature of street art after all.

These photos were taken on Sunday morning, so about four days into the Festival. Come back in a few days to see the progress, and the finished art works.  

                                             

The signs, posters, banners and flags are the artwork of Travis Price.

David Bromley has completed this large wall at 120 Bridge Street, which is also the wall to his Pop-Up Shop Bromley & Co.                                         

At The Shed, David Lee Pereira is working on this large wall, and at this stage I don't know anything about the left hand section of the wall next to Adnate's work from several years ago. Time will tell!

Local hero Tim Bowtell has the last side of the SEC building and he was busy on Sunday morning working with an assistant high up.

REKA appears to have finished this piece at Hide's Bakery.

At the entry to Bertalli's Bakery Arcade from the Denny Street car park, Neryl Walker was busy on another big wall.

The Denny Street toilet block has been transformed with a coat of olive green then Amanda Valdes from the U.S is working her way around with her finely detailed work. As her sign says, 'I'd love to talk but this wall will never get finished.' She has a big job ahead of her but she is making great progress.

Also in the Denny Street car park laneway is DXTR with his unique style.

Merda is busy with two pieces on the Benalla Rural City Council Offices. Can't wait to see what he produces here!

Buff Diss has already transformed this corner with what is probably only the base coat. Expect tape art here.

Under the library Sofles has a huge task ahead of him but already the car park is transformed, this is another to watch for a surprise finish, I expect.

At the side of the library Minna Leunig has started her work of art.

Melanie Caple's work is exciting already. She was busy in the heat.

Tommy Day from Shepparton has a long wall at the Senior Citizens & Community Centre building which he is transforming with his deep sense of connection with Country.

At the end of town (or the beginning, depending where you come from) Travis Price has created another great welcome to Benalla wall with vibrant colours. You can't miss it.

Lisa King has not begun her large wall as she has been working on a collaborative dining and artistic experience with Mark Foletta.

And at the Art Gallery the unveiling of a public installation by Sofles was part of the Official Opening.

 Excellent weather for painting and also for visiting Benalla to see the newest street art for yourselves.

Silo and Water Tank Art in the Goulburn Valley, Victoria

Our Goulburn Valley silo and Water Tank Art Trail journey began in Shepparton, and from there we made the short trip to Tatura. There are a number of art features in Tatura but the best is the water tank with art work by Cam Scales and Andrew Davis.

The subject, Sir John Monash, was born in Melbourne in 1865 and from an early age was a high achiever. At 16 years he commenced study at the University of Melbourne where he gained degrees in Arts, Law and Engineering.. He worked as a civil engineer and amongst his many achievements was his work with reinforced concrete in civil engineering.

During World War 1 he was commissioned as a Colonel and served at Gallipoli, Egypt and in France where he distinguished himself. In 1918 Lt General John Monash was knighted in the field by King George V. After the war he returned to Australia and became the first Chairman of the State Electricity Commission.

General Sir John Monash died in 1931 but his name and legacy live on through Monash University, Monash scholarships, the Sir John Monash Centre in France, and a large number of bridges, silos and water tanks throughout Australia. The Monash Bridge in Benalla is one example.

The reverse of the tank features the poppies of Flanders as a tribute to the areas significant ANZAC legacy..

From Tatura we went on to Rochester where we had previously visited to see the work of Jimmy DVate on the wheat silos. His work is stunning and well worth a second viewing, however the main reason to visit was to see DVate's latest art silo featuring the Duck-Billed Platypus. How incredible to be able to paint the platypus partly under water so successfully!

All three silos are in the centre of town with the platypus back to back with the azure kingfisher and the squirrel glider possum.

There are several info boards telling about the town, the silo art and the artist.

This photo is not a silo or tank but Iddles Lane mural in Rochester is the work of another renowned silo artist, Tim Bowtell.

Our last stop was Kyabram, where unfortunately you cannot get close to the large water tank. Through a peep hole in the wire fence I managed to get this shot of a little bit of the Wetlands and bird life of Kyabram. As usual Jimmy DVate has put a huge amount of detail into his work and even at a great distance this can still be appreciated.

 We returned home with plans to return with friends, and make a two day trip and thus cover more silos and tanks in the Greater Goulburn Valley.

We are so lucky to have so much excellent art in the Goulburn Valley and North East of Victoria.

All too soon it is Time to go Home

Going home is not something I like doing but it does give us a chance to look back on the past weeks, and to start thinking of our next trip.

We delighted in walking part of the Via Francigena. We didn't expect so much rain and sticky slippery mud but the challenges and sense of achievement were undoubtedly a highlight. Enjoyable memories never to be forgotten.

Lecce was a total surprise. A clean, elegant and surprisingly charming city with interesting food and friendly people.

Naples is a starkly different place; noisy, dirty, chaotic traffic, non stop ... but we can't help liking it. Back in Rome for half a day, we could not believe how quiet it was!

My window seat allowed me to see a last few interesting sights.

Foce del fiume Tevere and Fiumicino

The Gulf of Taranto - Italy's instep

Flying over Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee

Sunset

I may not like coming home but the sight of Melbourne at night is simply spectacular.