Affordable Art Fair
The Affordable Art Fair is not what I want it to be or what the name suggests- it is no great equalizer, it is not art for the masses, and it most certainly is not affordable. For $47.23 to be able to attend the opening night on Thursday, or $29.63 for general admission ($26.53 for concessions), there’s something to be said for building a brand centred around affordability with such a high barrier for entry in the middle of a cost of living crisis. My second gripe with “affordable” is their version of it- under $10,000. Granted, a cursory look around places more canvases in the mid-thousands rather than the upper end, but it is still far more than most are able to part with on a stormy Friday afternoon.
I went into the fair knowing what I was looking for- the Melbourne galleries and ARIs, the artists working in the space, and the ‘Young Talent’ section. With 68 galleries listed on their website, the fair is relatively expansive, including exhibitors from New Zealand/Aotearoa, Asia, Peru, and at least one with outposts in both Italy and the USA, alongside local mainstays. For how many exhibitors there are each year, I am struck by how much similarity there is for what is on offer. Whether its colour (brash pinks and neons are in vogue), form (palatable abstractions, landscapes, and florals), or medium (paintings, of course), I have never walked around the fair and been struck by originality or experimentality being a core belief for the exhibitors. Talking to some of the artists and exhibitors, they know this, and while it may not be true of their practice (or gallery) as a whole, it is what the fair’s public demands.
If you are going to the fair this weekend, here are my picks (and if you want a ticket, send me a DM):
The “Young Talent.” Spotlighting artists working in Victoria under 35, the fair “celebrates the next generation of creative voices, spotlighting emerging artists as they take bold steps into the art world.” While the majority of the artists work on canvas, it was Lauren Cameron’s ceramics that caught my eye. The vases are tentacled, reaching outwards like alien lifeforms beckoning you forward. Beatrice Dallhot’s portraits remind me of Grecian frescoes. The two in frames painted by the artist struck me with their attention to detail and close focus on the faces. They feel personal, almost heirloom-esque.
The Warlukurlangu Art Centre. Hailing from the Yuendumu community in central Australia, the collective brought with them beautiful, intricate Aboriginal Art. Athena Nahal Granites and Nathania Nangala Granites were both working while I was at the fair. The work that they were doing was incredibly detailed- I love nothing more than seeing a composition come to life bit by bit.
The Naarm Textile Collective. I had the chance to speak to Maryanne Moodie, a local artist who was also creating in situ. Her works front and centre were bold and textural, tapestries I truly wanted to touch but it was below these that I found the works that echo what most interests be in fibre arts- remaking, reusing, and experimentation. In speaking to Moodie, she was well aware of what had mass curb appeal (her lush, large works), and what might have a more niche audience (her smaller upcycled works like Portal). Made by collecting scrap and discarded fabric from Kawaii on Brunswick Street (where Moodie has works for sale) she reworks them into woven art forms, carefully considered from the fused glass rod to the gold leafed centre.
While I applaud anything that gets more people looking at and supporting the arts, the Affordable Art Fair is not for me, and after three years seeing the same paintings at the same booths, I ask who it’s really for. Is it devaluing the artist to call their bodies of work ‘affordable?’ It’s a term that either counts you in or out- there’s no crossover here between the galleries here and at the Melbourne Art Fair or Spring1883. According to the ABC in 2024, artists only make an average of $14k a year from their arts practice, and for those who this is true for, the fair isn’t for them either (Story 2025).
Support your ARIs, go to openings, put weird art on the wall with your friends. Price your works for what they are worth- and if you are buying art, there is art out there in your budget, but unless you’re in the mood for a real hunt, I don’t think you’ll find it at the Royal Exhibition Building.
The Affordable Art Fair is on at the Exhibition Building until August 31.