Get Ready of Melbourne Art Fair 2024

Check out the fair’s full lineup, special events, and much more…

Words: Erin Irwin

There are only a few weeks to go until Melbourne Art Fair 2024 opens its doors, with the now annual art fair promising works from more than 100 artists from all disciplines, displayed across 7,500 square metres of floor space at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. The fair’s 17th edition is shaping up to be one of its best yet, with its packed schedule including six performances, four installations, and two new commissions across four days. Plenty has happened since we last updated you, so check out the fair’s newest announcements below.

There will be a section devoted to moving-image art, with VIDEO, curated by Tamsin Hong of London’s Serpentine Gallery, showcasing works by Australian art-world heavyweights and international voices. Video work by Joan Ross will be exhibited courtesy of Sydney’s N.Smith Gallery, and pieces by South African artist Buhlebezwe Siwani are to be presented by newcomers Madragoa from Lisbon, Portugal.

The BEYOND section has been curated by Shelley McSpedden, Senior Curator at ACCA, and will exhibit four massive installations and spatial interventions. Sullivan+Strumpf, which has galleries in Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore, is bringing along Sanné Mestrom‘s work, while Sydney-based The Commercial will present work by Jazz Money, which will reflect on First Nations history. Not far away will be work by Dane Mitchell, exhibiting with The Renshaws’ from Brisbane, whose installation was created in collaboration with Japanese composer and singer-songwriter Keiji Haino, as well as Void_Melbourne’s contribution of works by Louise Paramor.

Continuing the theme of expanding what traditional fairs usually have to offer, this year’s fair will also include PROJECT ROOMS¸ which is specifically catered to artistic experimentation. Here visitors will find Melbourne’s Gertrude, which will exhibit works by Elyas Alavi, Arini Byng, Francis Carmody, Ruth Höflich, Georgia Morgan, and Lisa Waup. Firsdraft from Sydney will also present, including pieces by Shannon Toth, Dustin Voggenreiter, Amy Prcevich, Danica Knežević, and Easton Dunne.

Talks and panels will also be abundant at this edition, presented by CONVERSATIONS. Catch art-world heavyweights including Tate London’s Adjunct Curator Kimberley Moulton, Fist Nations Art Curator Erin Vink, writer and journalist Jennifer Higgie, designer Jordan Gogos, founder of Arndt Art Agency and owner of the ARNDT Collection Matthias Arndt, and artists Julie Rrap, Akira Isogawa, Brooke Stamp and Lucrecia Quintanilla here, to name but a few.

Not to be missed are performances by dance company Lucy Guerin Inc., where NEWRETRO will be reinvented as NEWRETRO REDUX. The performance is site specific and responsive, using the fair’s space to explore an archive of the company’s award-winning choreography.

All of this, alongside presentations by a vast array of galleries – which can be seen below – makes for a fantastic opportunity for collectors of all types to explore what the Australian art world has to offer. Book your tickets now by visiting Melbourne Art Fair’s website here.

The full list of galleries: 1301SW/STARKWHITE, Melbourne, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne, Art Collective WA, Perth, Arthouse Gallery, Sydney, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne, Blackartprojects, Melbourne, CHALK HORSE, Sydney, Chapman Bailey – cbOne, Melbourne, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne, COMA, Sydney, Daine Singer, Melbourne, Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney, day01., Sydney, First Draft, Sydney, Despard Gallery, Hobart, Five Walls, Melbourne, Fox Jensen, Sydney, FUTURES, Melbourne, GAGPROJECTS, Adelaide, GALLERY 9, Sydney, Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert, Sydney, Gertrude, Melbourne, Haydens, Melbourne, Jacob Hoerner Galleries, Melbourne, James Makin Gallery, Melbourne, Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane, Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art, Melbourne, LON Gallery, Melbourne, MARS Gallery, Melbourne, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney, MOA Arts, Mua/Moa Island, MOORE CONTEMPORARY, Perth, Munupi Arts & Crafts Association, Melville Island, N.Smith Gallery, Sydney, Nanda\Hobbs, Sydney, Nasha Gallery, Sydney, Neon Parc, Melbourne, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne, OLSEN Gallery, Sydney, Papunya Tjupi Arts, Papunya, ReadingRoom, Melbourne, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, Sophie Gannon Gallery, Melbourne, STATION, Melbourne/Sydney, Sullivan+Strumpf, Sydney/Melbourne/Singapore, Sutton Gallery, Melbourne, The Commercial, Sydney, The Renshaws’, Brisbane, Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne, Vermilion Art, Sydney, Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne, Void_Melbourne, Melbourne, Wagner Contemporary, Sydney, Wik & Kugu Arts Centre, Aurukun, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, and Yavuz Gallery, Sydney/Singapore.

This article was posted 31 January 2024.

Image: Melbourne Art Fair 2022. Courtesy: Melbourne Art Fair.

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