The sprawling 11-day event will showcase workshops, talks, symposiums, readings, performances, exhibitions, launches and plenty of books.
Lovers of words, publishing and all related tangible artifacts, rejoice – the Melbourne Art Book Fair is back for 2023.
The annual event curated by the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) as part of Melbourne Design Week brings together some of the world’s finest independent publishers, art book makers, authors, galleries, and more.
Running from May 18–28, visitors can indulge in a range of activities, including workshops, talks, symposiums, readings, performances, exhibitions, and launches, at venues across Victoria. The Stallholder Fair, a free event held from May 19–21 at the NGV Great Hall, offers visitors the chance to browse through the works of independent publishers, art book makers, established publishing houses, art galleries and more, with stallholders including Arts Project Australia, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki (New Zealand), Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Bloomsbury Publishing, and others.
A new addition to the fair this year is the Print Kitchen, an Italian restaurant-inspired activity presented by Melbourne artist Artek Halpern-Laurence. The activity explores tactile and hands-on art making techniques and invites visitors to create their own etching print using “cooking” tools and ingredients. Visitors can also enjoy espresso and biscotti at the coffee cart, while the Gallery Kitchen café offers a range of trattoria-inspired dishes, including antipasto, pasta salad, and tiramisu.
There will also be a day-long publishing and design symposium presented by NGV and the RMIT School of Design, where international and local industry leaders will examine publishing as a critical practice; free hourly talks, book launches, and readings at a conversation space in NGV’s Federation Court; a range of graphic design talks on typography and design legacies; and conversations addressing new and experimental publishing models from Australian publishers.
In addition to the main event, a satellite program of more than 50 Melbourne Art Book Fair events will reach communities throughout Melbourne and regional Victoria at venues including Collingwood Yards, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Castlemaine Art Museum, Platform Arts in Geelong, and Everybody Knows Books in Ballarat.
On May 23, the NGV will present Resistances in Indigenous Design, a lecture and panel discussion profiling Indigenous design practices that have resisted colonial ideals and European aesthetics to produce significant projects led by First Nations values and communities. Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Warrung academic and artist Tiriki Onus will be joined by First Nations artists and designers Lisa Waup, Jenna Lee, and Aotearoa-based Desna Whaanga-Schollum.
Broadsheet is a proud media partner of NGV.