The Melbourne Art Fair 2014 will showcase over 300 artists from around the world presented by some of the best Australian, New Zealand and international galleries.
Australia’s longest running art fair presented by the Melbourne Art Foundation, Melbourne Art Fair 2014 will have participation by 70 galleries, and will be presented from 13 to 17 August 2014 in the historic Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne’s Carlton Gardens.
Galleries at the Fair will be presented across two sections, with established galleries in the main MAF Galleries section and emerging galleries and artist collectives in the MAF Platform section, which continues the Fair’s commitment to exhibiting the best emerging talent by presenting curated galleries and artist run initiatives younger than five years.
Melbourne Art Fair Director Barry Keldoulis, who will oversee his first Fair in 2014, commented that the focus of the Fair is to present the best contemporary art from Australasia from the foremost galleries and artists of the region with galleries presenting a diverse range of works spanning paintings, works on paper, photography, sculpture, new media and installation work by established artists and emerging talent.
Anna Pappas, Chair of the Melbourne Art Foundation, and loyal fair participant describes the Melbourne Art Fair as a Melbourne institution that has been operating over 24 years, founded by the Australian Commercial Galleries Association (ACGA) to present cutting edge contemporary art. This year’s event promises to push conceptual boundaries and offer some exciting new concepts.
The inaugural MAF Video is a new section dedicated to new media and moving image, and will be co-curated by Simone Hine and Kyle Weise, co-founding Directors of Melbourne’s not-for-profit Screen Space.
The Melbourne Art Fair is supported by an ambitious Melbourne Art Week, a seven-day citywide program of lectures, forums, free children’s workshops and events, running from Monday 11 August until Sunday 17 August 2014. Additionally, a dynamic public Lectures and Forums program will be presented throughout the week including the anticipated Melbourne Art Fair Keynote Lecture on Monday 11 August, to be presented this year by Pearl Lam, Director of Pearl Lam Galleries.
The Melbourne Art Foundation Awards for the Visual Arts will be presented for outstanding contribution and commitment to the status of contemporary art and for outstanding achievement of an Australian Artist in the lead-up to the Fair on 17 July.
The MAF Commission is set to be another highlight of the Fair, due to be announced in July, and involves a large-scale and highly ambitious installation piece by a prominent Australasian artist.
MAF Project Rooms will again be dedicated to the best Australian institutions, with five of them within the fairgrounds and one off site, whilst MAF Edge will, for the first time, present a curated performance and interactive group of established performance artists.
Highlights of the MAF Galleries section, featuring established international galleries, include Pearl Lam Galleries, presenting for the first time at the Fair in 2014, as well as London’s Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery, Kyoto’s COHJU Contemporary Art, and Osaka’s Yamaki Art Gallery.
The MAF Platform for 2014 includes blackartprojects, .M Contemporary, Art Collective WA, Venn Gallery, Lindberg Galleries, Moana Project Space and Daine Singer.
Ticket sales for the Melbourne Art Fair 2014 open on 30 May 2014.
