Standing 75 feet above the ground in a boom lift, Australian artist Guido van Helten carefully applies paint to a concrete wall with what appears to be an ordinary fence-painting brush. The 38-year-old Brisbane native is creating his latest monumental mural on a massive grain elevator in Minot, North Dakota, transforming the towering structure that stretches across most of a city block into a canvas for community storytelling.
Van Helten's work on the former Union Silos represents his ongoing mission to paint murals on a gigantic scale across structures worldwide. His previous projects have ranged from a dam in Australia to part of a former cooling tower at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine. However, grain silos throughout the U.S. Midwest have become among his most frequent canvases over the past seven years of increasingly working in America.
"When you use these old structures to kind of share stories and use them as a vehicle to carry an image of identity, it becomes part of the landscape," van Helten explained. "I've found that people have really adopted them and become really super proud of them." The artist particularly enjoys the opportunity to uncover stories from communities that are often considered "out of the way" or "flyover" areas.
Van Helten's interest in regional communities began in earnest after creating a mural years ago on a silo in an Australian town of just 100 people. The project drew significant interest and launched a series of commissions across both Australia and the United States. His technique involves using mineral silicate paint specifically formulated to absorb and bond with concrete, ensuring the artwork's longevity.
The artist's approach emphasizes harmony with existing structures rather than dramatic transformation. "I love the coloring of these buildings, so I don't want to fight with them, I don't want to change it, I don't want it to be bright. I want it to become part of the landscape," he said. He carefully mixes tones specific to each wall's color and subtly layers his work to blend seamlessly with the original structure.
The mural creation process is deliberately methodical and community-focused. Van Helten begins by meeting with local residents to learn about their community's history and character, then spends months slowly transforming what is typically the largest structure in a small town. In Minot, he started painting in May with plans for a comprehensive 360-degree mural that combines photography with traditional painting techniques to depict the area's people and culture.
The Minot elevator and silos, built during the 1950s, served as an economic center for years before ceasing operations around the early 1990s. Van Helten draws inspiration from concepts of land and ownership during his time in North Dakota, exploring themes from ranching and oil field work to Native American perspectives. Minot, with nearly 50,000 residents, sits strategically near both the Bakken oil field and Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.
"It is really when you boil down to it in many ways about land and how different cultures interpret that and connect with it, and I feel it's really interesting in North Dakota because it is really such a big, open land," the artist explained. While much of the mural continues taking shape, images of a barn and female figures are already visible on the massive structure.
Property owner Derek Hackett views the mural as an excellent opportunity to revitalize the area. "The mural is a great way to take what is kind of a blighted property and be able to give it a face-lift and kind of resurrect its presence in our skyline," Hackett said. Once completed, the mural will be visible from almost anywhere in town, creating a new landmark for the community.
The ambitious project operates entirely on donations, with a total cost of approximately $350,000. Project spokesperson Chelsea Gleich reports that about 85% of the funding has already been raised. "It is uniquely ours, it's uniquely North Dakota and you'll never be able to find a piece just like this anywhere else," Gleich emphasized, highlighting the mural's role in celebrating the community's distinct identity and heritage.
