A seminal fixture on the Australasian cultural calendar, the Melbourne Art Fair (MAF) returns this year to orbit around the unifying theme of ‘ketherba’ – a Boonwurrung word used to express togetherness.
The progressive fair – which will now run annually – will braid together 60 of the region’s leading galleries and Indigenous art centres, spanning 7,500sqm at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Running from February 22 until 25, MAF will spotlight gallery presentations alongside a broader program of interdisciplinary practices, installations, video works, performances and conversations, alongside the 2024 Melbourne Art Foundation Commission, awarded to contemporary artist Julie Rrap. The expansive schedule features more than 50 events, including four large-scale installations and six performances.
A snapshot of the participating galleries includes 1301SW/Starkwhite, Anna Schwartz Gallery, Blackartprojects, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Darren Knight Gallery, Fox Jensen, Jan Murphy Gallery, Martin Browne Contemporary, Olsen Gallery, Sullivan+Strumpf, Tolarno Galleries, Vivien Anderson Gallery, Wagner Contemporary and many, many more.
MAF will also present 11 young galleries established after 2016 as well as four Indigenous art centres. Award-winning contemporary dance company Lucy Guerin Inc will perform a reimagined adaptation of the site-responsive work Newretro – which marks the first time dance has formed part of an MAF line-up.
The Conversations program will bring together luminaries from the art world to unpack their creative journeys and discuss big topics like ‘reframing the museum’. The Live program will focus on new commissions by emerging performance artists, including Diego Ramírez, Georgia Banks, Arini Byng and Kori Miles.
The full program for Melbourne Art Fair’s mammoth 17th edition has just been announced and you can find all the juicy details here.
Tickets to MAF are now on sale. General admission is $32, with VIP art passes from $160. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the MAF website here.