From Thursday 28 to Sunday 31 August 2025, the fifth Affordable Art Fair returns to Melbourne with its largest celebration of art to date. While art fairs can sometimes seem intimidating or unwelcoming to anyone who’s not a well-heeled art collector or arts industry insider, contemporary art can also be – and is – inspiring and uplifting.
Another art world truism is that you don’t actually have to be rich to be able to buy original pieces of art, despite the eye-watering price tags you sometimes hear or read about in the media.
In the Affordable Art Fair up to 70 Australian and international galleries will be represented, artworks are priced from $100 to $10,000, and entry is an appropriately affordable $20.32 (at early bird prices, though general ticketing prices kick in soon) for general admission. Individual passes valid for all four days of the Fair are also available.
“The 2025 Melbourne Fair will be the largest and most ambitious we’ve held in Australia, which is a testament to the growing popularity and accessibility of the event,” says Melbourne Fair Director Georgia Heustis.
“We know that visitors appreciate that every piece at the Fair is the work of a living artist, every artwork on display lists a sale price, and every piece can be bought, wrapped and taken home to hang and cherish on the same day,” she adds.
Several galleries are participating in the Melbourne Affordable Art Fair for the first time year, including Fitzroy’s Brunswick Street Gallery (representing emerging and established artists in partnership with leading Indigenous art centres), landscape photography from Ken Duncan Photography (located on the Central Coast of NSW), and from the regional Victorian town of Maldon, Cascade Art Gallery and its roster of painters and sculptors.
Other participating galleries include the not-for-profit Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an arts centre wholly owned by Aboriginal artists from the remote desert communities of Yuendumu and Nyirripi in Central Australia (and whose artists, including Karen Napaljarri Barnes, the granddaughter of famed Warlukurlangu artist, Judy Napangardi Watson, are extensively featured in exhibitions and publications nationally and globally), inner-Brisbane’s Revival Art & Design Gallery, and Gallery NWC, a collective dedicated to helping regional artists exhibit outside their hometowns.
International visitors include China’s Tree Art Space, Korea’s Mookji, Malaysia’s Art WeMe Contemporary Gallery, Singapore’s REDSEA, Peru’s Diverso and AM Art Gallery Collective and Vandal Limited from Aotearoa New Zealand.
Affordable Art Fair Melbourne runs from 28-31 August 2025 at the Royal Exhibition Building.
In related news, Affordable Art Fair Sydney is moving to Carriageworks in inner suburban Eveleigh, as its success requires a larger physical footprint for the Fair’s fourth and most ambitious edition yet.
Australian Fair Director Stephanie Kelly-Gordine says the move to Carriageworks is a defining moment for the Sydney Fair, which debuted in 2022 with just 35 galleries: “Carriageworks is … the perfect canvas for the Fair’s fresh, welcoming approach to collecting art. The new venue allows the event to grow its footprint and impact, while staying true to its mission of making art accessible, affordable and exciting for all.”
The move to Carriageworks also brings a reimagined layout, offering more room to browse and better flow between gallery spaces.
“Affordable Art Fair is hands-down the easiest and most enjoyable way to explore and buy art, whether you’re hunting for your first piece or your 50th,” Kelly-Gordine says. “Everything is from a living artist, prices are clearly listed and you can take your new artwork home on the day. What’s not to love?”
This year’s Affordable Art Fair Sydney will welcome around 60 independent galleries showcasing thousands of original works from both established and emerging artists, all priced between $100 and $10,000. It runs from 6-9 November 2025 at Carriageworks, Everleigh. Visit the Fair’s website for details.
