Discover: Young Talent 2025 at our Melbourne Fair
Affordable Art Fair Melbourne returns this 28 – 31 August at the Royal Exhibition Building, and we’re delighted to introduce our hand-picked selection of emerging artists set to showcase their art.
Paige Spurrell
Tuesday 15 July, 2025
Morgana Celeste, 2022, Solo Show at Pepite Things That Keep Me Up At Night, photo by Ying Ang
This year, we’ve selected 9 incredible young artists who will be displaying their fresh, innovative work for you to explore. Now is your chance to see and be inspired by the creativity of Melbourne’s Next-gen artists. The Discover: Young Talent Platform is not to be missed for those who love to be in-the-know and support the careers of emerging artistic talent.
Get to know the names of our curated selection of artists, as well as a taste of their work and practices before your visit.
Vittoria Cugno
Vittoria is a Melbourne based artist that creates beautiful, expressionist oil paintings that capture fleeting moments of leisure and human connection. Inspired by the everyday, Vittoria’s use of bold colours and experimental light work create movement and energy, bringing slow, contemplative moments to light.
Vittoria has recently taken part in an artist residency at La Maison de Beaumont, located in Provincial France, where she has made a series of paintings inspired by the stillness of the French countryside. Visitors will have the first, exclusive opportunity to snap up these small scale paintings at the fair.
Beatrice Dahllof
Beatrice is a conservator and painter whose figurative oil paintings are intimate, messy explorations of human nature and shared storytelling. Inspired by folk lore, Beatrice paints poetically and softly, examining the tensions that exist between our contemporary knowledge and ancestral memories.
Beatrice enjoys working freely and in slowness, which starkly contrasts her role as a conservator, a profession that requires precision and order. We are incredibly eager to catch Beatrice’s work situated against the historical walls of Royal Exhibition Building.
Aimee McCartney (Luruk-In)
Aimee is a proud Taungurung, Wotjobaluk, Wemba Wemba, and Boon Wurrung woman who creates bold, vibrant Aboriginal contemporary works that explore her strong cultural and ancestral identity.
Growing up as part of a large family, culture was ever-present in her life through dance, weaving, painting, and singing – and became a vital part of how she expressed herself. This connection to heritage has continued to shape her identity and work in the creative space.
Outside of creating intricate, eye-catching works, Aimee is an Officer for the Royal Australian Airforce, informing visual representations in her paintings. Through her art, Aimee hopes is to inspire others to connect with and learn about First Nations culture, history, stories, and language. Don’t miss out the chance to see Aimee’s bright, beautiful works before they fly off the walls this Affordable Art Fair Melbourne.
Morgana Celeste
Morgana Celeste is a Melbourne-based artist that creates colourful, 3D works that toy the line between sculpture and painting. Each piece of work is individually hand crafted using an unconventional mix of materials, including paper pulp, fine cement, and acrylic paint. Once dried, the surface of each individual piece preserves the impressions of Morgana’s movements and the emotions displayed at the point of creation.
Morgana seeks to foster a deep appreciation for the everyday moments in life, whether it’s a visit to the local farmer’s market or a walk along the Yarra River. Her work celebrates memories of quiet joy and curiosity, encouraging audiences to stay playful and present in the ever-changing world we live in. Don’t miss out on the chance to view Morgana’s playful, whimsy pieces at the fair.
Abby – Lee Sleep
Abby creates vibrant still life paintings that are a celebration of memories from her childhood in Geelong. Fascinated by antique objects and Australian wildflowers, Abby uses bright acrylics and simple composition to explore the colour and movement of objects that would go unnoticed.
Abby’s work invites nostalgic contemplation of typical Aussie childhoods spent in the countryside, and rejoices in celebration of our everyday life. Her intuitive work is the perfect addition to add to your collection.
Ronald Chu
Hong Kong born and Melbourne raised, Ronald Chu has always loved travelling and wandering the streets, capturing the hidden beauty of places even in the quietest of corners. A self-taught classical artist who has been inspired by expressionism and baroque art, Ronald completed his Masters of Architecture, a practice that informs his precise, lifelike work.
His work encourages us to investigate the world from both micro and macroscopic lense, painting landscapes, still lifes and figures alike. Ron has a knack for transforming minuscule moments into grand, dynamic visual narratives. We are honoured to be presenting his work against the classical backdrop of the Royal Exhibition Building.
Miffy Murray
Miffy is a Melbourne-based still life artist, who’s brightly coloured acrylic and oil paintings capture temporality of the everyday. Inspired by her memories and quiet observation, her work invites momentary reflection and is an invitation to connect with the here and now.
Her artworks share a warm, contemplative view of the world, using soft gestural brush strokes to invite us into her imaginative, joyful landscape. Don’t miss the opportunity to see her detailed works up close at our Discover: Young Talent stand during your visit.
Tara Strubing
A Melbourne-based painter, Tara creates raw, poignant works that are filled with emotional grit and soul. Tara paints intuitively, using charcoal, oil, acrylics, and texture paste to create figurative artwork that navigates the loss of innocence and complexities of society.
Her work invites viewers to embrace their vulnerabilities and find comfort in even the darkest of moments through both discomfort and safety. We are honoured to show off Tara’s vulnerable, boundary-pushing work during the Discover: Young Talent showcase.
Lauren Cameron
Lauren Cameron is a ceramic artist based in Naarm. Her work is a personal exploration of her inner world, where she navigates the complexities of trauma in an evocative and deeply contemplative way. Each of her ceramic objects are uniquely manipulated and feature complex designs and textures, highlighting fragility but also strength in the wake of difficulty.
Her work encourages us to confront and connect with our own emotional landscapes, offering spaces for reflection and empathy, but also an appreciation of resilience in spite of circumstance. Her deeply soulful ceramics are the perfect addition to kick start your collection this August.
This line-up of young artists is a must-see, so don’t forget to purchase your tickets for the fair! We can’t wait to see you this 28 – 31 August at the Royal Exhibition Building.
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