Melbourne Exhibitor Guide

The Melbourne edition of Affordable Art Fair offers an exciting opportunity to exhibit in a truly special venue, where establishing connections and maintaining the art ecosystem is highly valued.

Whether you’re thinking about exhibiting at Affordable Art Fair Melbourne, or are already familiar with its unique advantages, our exhibitor guide will tell you all you need to know about exhibiting with us.

Read on to get a closer look at what to expect, including top tips for success from our Melbourne based Fair Director, Georgia Huestis.

Why Melbourne?

Melbourne is known as a cultural hub internationally, as well as within Australia. It’s an art-centred city, where every buyer wants to come and engage with you and your artists. With big museums, big galleries and big exhibitions, there’s so much buzz around the arts scene and plenty to keep art buyers engaged.

There is a fond feeling towards Affordable Art Fair in Melbourne, derived from its position as the first of our art fairs to be hosted in Australia, and visitors feel comfortable when buying art with us. At our 2022 edition, we saw 17,000 visitors and $3m worth of art headed to happy homes.

Taking place in a stunning venue with ample space, we offer scope to get creative with special projects, live performances and have the opportunity to go above-and-beyond with what is expected of a traditional art fair. The opening night, in particular, offers high glamour and an eclectic atmosphere without any semblance of elitism. Visitors can attend straight from work in the CBD, or come from home, and with the cooler temperatures of the approaching spring, people are looking to indoor events for their fun and entertainment.

First impressions of the fair

The only Affordable Art Fair to take place in a UNESCO World Heritage Building, our Melbourne edition is unique in combining the contemporary feel of an art fair with traditional architecture. The Royal Exhibition Building (REB) is a universally loved venue in Melbourne, with the iconic Dome bringing in visitors all-year-round, even without an event to attend. Exhibiting underneath its exquisite decorative artwork alongside fellow exhibitors is an extra special experience, especially as Affordable Art Fair Melbourne is distinctive in its bringing together so many national, passionate galleries.

In terms of location, the REB is situated in the ideal spot of Carlton Gardens between two sides of the city, with CBD workers and the Arts Precinct to the south, and the sought-after, arty area of Gertrude Street in Fitzroy to the east. Here, you’ll find the world’s best brunch and an unrivalled café scene. We can recommend you some great hotels in the area, and you just can’t beat the walk through Fitzroy Gardens each morning of the fair. 

Who are our audience?

Our visitors in Melbourne are open, friendly and notable forbeing very house proud. This is testament to the sheer amount of local home design magazines and interior-focused local design blogs: the people of Melbourne love to read about, think about and show off their homes. Being surrounded by so much interior literature means that finding art for their walls is always on the agenda.

This is shown in our visitor’s high emotional and spiritual reasons for visiting our fair, with the majority wanting to be inspired, or to be surrounded by beautiful art. The social aspect of the fair is also important to our visitors, with 31% of people who attended Melbourne 2022 citing that they visited to spend time with loved ones, which aligns with the family-orientated mindset of Melburnians. Visitors are so often looking out for art to buy with and for their children. And, because, once they’ve fallen in love with your gallery they’ll often return, the opportunity presents itself for repeat sales to multiple generations. Our visitors love a familiar face and will remember you from fair-to-fair!

Overall, our Melbourne audience are looking for value for money and a varied selection of artworks. They have an eye for trends, diverse taste and, with so many owning second homes, plenty of space to go big. With 75% of art buyers at Melbourne 2022 being first first-time collectors, there is so much room for repeat custom once you’ve developed and nurtured those relationships.

Fair Director Georgia Huestis’ top tips for success:

• Present a cross-section of art. Think to yourself, do I have a mix of price points and sizes?  I like to think of it as making sure your stand caters for every member of a family.  From that entry level first piece to the more aspirational.
• Build storage on you stand. Visitors love the feeling of discovery.  Building storage on your stand is a terrific way to keep visitors engaged with your stand and what you do even longer as you reveal additional artworks.
• Visitors are far more inclined to enter your stand if you are warm and inviting with your body language. Keep your stand dynamic, be welcoming, and try not to sit down behind a table. 
• Be prepared for all of your art buyers’ questions. We partner with a delivery company, picture hanger and a framer.  I’d suggest making yourself aware of the costs of local delivery and such services before our opening night.  We love having our partners all onsite under the one roof and they are there to help make life easier for both you and your future art buyers.

Main image: Aerial shot of Melbourne 2019 in mid-swing.