More than 18,000 visitors are expected at the Royal Exhibition Building for the fair’s sixth edition in Melbourne.
Every work at the sixth Affordable Art Fair Melbourne will be priced between $100 and $10,000, with buyers able to take purchases home on the day. Australian Fair Director Georgia Huestis expects more than 18,000 people to attend across the four-day event.
“Every artwork is by a living artist, prices are clearly displayed, and visitors can purchase and take home their favourite pieces on the spot,” Huestis said.
Live Art, Emerging Artists and Family Activities
Eight artists aged under 35 will feature in the Discover: Young Talent program: Rufus Punton, Millie Hopton, Ariella Weinmann, Ashton Wastney, Anna Walsh, Anna Xiang, Georgia Robinson and Carley Olifiers.
French artist Diego Dough will transform part of the venue into a custom art shop filled with fried egg sculptures and colourful flowers. A new mural titled Face Value will be positioned at the entrance, while Thirteen 05 Gallery will have a dedicated space inside the fair.
The Artists in Action program will feature live demonstrations from painter Greg Mallyon, printmaker and poet Jeff Gardner, collagist Robert Lee Davis, illustrator Chloe Blythman, realist oil painters Sally and Ben Ryan, and textile artist Nilraya Bundasak. Melbourne artist Jackie Case’s Art ATM will also be part of the program.
For younger visitors, the Kaleidoscope Children’s Art Studio will draw on toys, kawaii culture and collectables. Curated by Queensland artist Claudio Kirac, the family space will include free face painting and pram parking.
Melbourne and Regional Galleries Join the Fair
Melbourne participants include the Victorian Artists Society, Fitzroy’s Brunswick Street Gallery and SOL Gallery, and St Kilda art space Storehouse.
Regional Victorian galleries will include Manyung Gallery Group, Maldon’s Cascade Art Gallery and Queenscliff’s Salt Contemporary Art. Galleries from elsewhere in Australia include Jumbled, The Toowoomba Gallery, Aspire Gallery, Stevens Street Gallery and Sydney’s Oddball Gallery.
Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation will return as the fair’s Access Partner. The not-for-profit, 100% Aboriginal-owned art centre represents artists from the Central Australian desert communities of Yuendumu and Nyirripi.
An In Conversation event presented with Australian House & Garden will take place on Friday 28th August. The venue will also have a central bar and three on-site cafés.
EVENT DETAILS
When:
Thursday 27 August, 12pm – 5pm (First Look), 5pm – 9pm (Opening Night)
Friday 28 August, 10am – 9pm
Saturday 29 August, 10am – 5pm
Sunday 30 August, 10am – 5pm
Where:
Royal Exhibition Building
Nicholson Street
Carlton, Victoria
Tickets:
First Look – $49 (+bf)
Includes unlimited access across all four days of the Fair
Opening Night – $45 (+bf)
Includes unlimited access across all four days of the Fair
General Entry – $28 (+bf)
Single-day entry Friday – Sunday
Children under 16 – FREE
Free entry with a paying adult
