>> EVENT: 2 – 5 Aug 2012
Six months in the preparation, the 2012 Melbourne Art Fair was a huge event. I co-curated Arts Project Australia's Art Fair exhibition space with Arts Project registrations coordinator Penelope Hunt, which featured the work of almost fifty emerging, mid-career and established Arts Project artists.
When I am not wearing my jewellery hat, I am the gallery and exhibitions manager at Arts Project Australia, Melbourne, where we represent around 130 artists who attend our Northcote studio. This sometimes gives me the opportunity to pop a curator's hat on for external exhibition opportunities.
While there was a substantial hang of paintings, the primary focus of the space this year was a dedicated 3D space for sculpture and ceramics, where a cohesive body of work by Terry Williams and Chris Mason was presented. This created great excitement amongst visitors and we managed to sell several substantial artworks, including Chris Mason’s much loved sculpture Hong Mai. The stand looked stunning and we were thrilled with the 400+ artworks we had selected to represent the artists, which where shown amidst some of the most renowned galleries in Australia.
Amongst the many highlights was the resoundingly positive feedback we received about the work and the presentation of the stand. While the 2012 Art Fair generally received mixed reviews, it was often commented that our stand was amongst those most liked by visitors.
A stand out moment, was meeting Abi Crompton form Third Drawer Down, who frequented our stand throughout the Art Fair and purchased several artworks. As a result, we are now working together, Arts Project Australia and Third Drawer Down, on several collaborative projects that get the creative juices and ideas flowing.