Melbourne Art Fair Announces Program Highlights including CONVERSATIONS

The countdown to Melbourne Art Fair 2026 is officially on. The Program is live, most of the spreadsheet tabs are closed, and we’ve collectively exhaled.

Now in our 19th edition, the Fair takes over the MCEC with over 60 leading galleries, Indigenous-owned art centres and design studios under one (very large) roof. There will be bold installations, sculpture, experimental video, and a lively CONVERSATIONS program unfolding inside an inflatable Bubble – no stage, no podium, but strong opinions are encouraged.

Across the Fair, more than 200 artists and designers will present new and recent work, making this our largest and most energetic edition in recent history. Beyond the booths, there’s plenty to get stuck into: hands-on creative workshops, performance, guided tours, bookshops and a well-earned pause at the Bistro and Bar with a glass of Ministry of Clouds in hand.

Click here to discover the full program.

Discover Program and Exhibition highlights below:

VIDEO 2026 is programmed this year by French curator Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel, bringing together works by artists Neïl Beloufa (Mendes Wood DM), Meriem Bennani (Lodovico Corsini), Mohamed Bourouissa (PALAS), Cécile B Evans (ChâteauShatto) and David Noonan (Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery). Lamarche-Vadel is a French independent curator. From 2019 to 2025 she was the director and chief curator of the Fondation Lafayette Anticipations, Paris, where she has curated shows by Martine Syms, Neil Beloufa, Issy Wood, Cyprien Gaillard (also at Palais de Tokyo), Martin Margiela, Marguerite Humeau and Jean-Marie Appriou, and a forthcoming exhibition by Diego Marcon (2026).

Over twenty galleries in their first seven years of operation will be participating in the fair, including returning galleries Nasha (Gadigal Country/Sydney), Animal House Fine Arts (Naarm/Melbourne), Haydens (Naarm/Melbourne) and Void_Melbourne (Naarm/Melbourne), as well as debut galleries Mary Cherry Contemporary (Naarm/Melbourne), Grace (Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland), LAILA (Gadigal Country/Sydney) and PALAS (Gadigal Country/Sydney). MAF’s young galleries are dotted throughout the fair, exhibiting on equal terms with their more established peers, and will bring fresh talent to the fair with some exciting emerging artists.

Arts Project Australia (Naarm/Melbourne) returns to MAF with a lively series of artist-led workshops, taking place in the heart of the fair and supported by a City of Melbourne annual arts grant. Encouraging participation of all ages and artistic abilities, join APA artists Amani Tia for an intimate portrait painting workshop; Joanne Nethercote will run a tiny cat embroidery class, inviting participants to bring in photos of their cats to capture; and finally an immersive still life drawing session invites audiences to capture Chris Mason’s iconic SSBBW sculptures.

A significant addition to this year’s program, MAF will debut FUTUREOBJEKT, a 600-square-metre salon dedicated to collectible design, showcasing over 20 of Australia’s most compelling voices in contemporary design, architecture, and crafted objects. A fair-within-a-fair, framed by a tightly curated DESIGN CONVERSATIONS program, FUTUREOBJEKT will further cement Melbourne’s position as a creative force in the region.

“2026 will bring a dynamic program and incredible representation of young galleries – a handful of whom are making their MAF debut, intermixed with fair veterans and pioneers to Australia’s art scene. Once again we’re delighted to be platforming the William Mora Indigenous Art Centre Program and the crucial role they play in supporting First Peoples’-owned art centres. ‘The Bubble’ will be home this year to our CONVERSATIONS series, which is sure to provide some probing discussion and an extended program with the addition of DESIGN CONVERSATIONS as part of FUTUREOBJEKT. I’m incredibly proud to be at the helm of MAF for its 19th edition, which continues to prove itself as an authoritative voice on contemporary Australian art, and now design,” said Melissa Loughnan, Fair Director, Melbourne Art Fair.

Gallery Highlights

20 Years of Australia’s Leading Galleries / Notable Anniversaries

2026 marks a series of significant milestones for leading Australian gallerists, many of whom are celebrating 20 years at the forefront of the national art industry. Among them, Sophie Gannon Gallery Gallery (Naarm/Melbourne) is exhibiting accessible, small-scale paintings from young emerging artist Elynor Smithwick, and also celebrating 20 years is Neon Parc (Naarm/Melbourne), which will present a solo exhibition from artist Elizabeth Newman, exploring recent and historic works. In addition, The Women’s Art Register celebrates its 50-year-anniversary. Founding member and acclaimed artist Lesley Dumbrell will hold a solo exhibition with Charles Nodrum Gallery (Naarm/Melbourne), and participate in a CONVERSATIONS discussion on art, archives, and feminism.

Celebrating Debut and Returning Exhibitors

MAF will see the return of established gallerists and pioneers to Australia’s art scene Martin Browne Contemporary (Naarm/Melbourne), Sophie Gannon Gallery (Naarm/Melbourne), Justin Miller Art (Gadigal Country/Sydney), Nicholas Thompson Gallery (Naarm/Melbourne), Charles Nodrum Gallery (Naarm/Melbourne), Niagara Galleries (Naarm/Melbourne), and Brisbane-based Jan Murphy Gallery (Meanjin/Brisbane). Sitting adjacent to the fair’s longest standing booths are a handful of new wave galleries making their MAF debut including PALAS (Gadigal Country/Sydney), S_y_d_n_e_y_S_y_d_n_e_y_ (Gadigal Country/Sydney), and Grace (Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland), representing a new generation of leadership within Australia’s cultural landscape.

Works Not to Miss

Justin Miller Art (Gadigal Country/Sydney) will curate an exhibition of significant works by Brett Whiteley and Sidney Nolan, including a rarely seen painting by Nolan ‘Lovers, Luna Park’ (1941), long hung in the bedroom of Sunday Reed at Melbourne’s beloved Heide Museum of Modern Art. Martin Browne Contemporary (Naarm/Melbourne) is showing the latest work from Tokyo-based interdisciplinary art collective teamLab ‘Darkness Becomes Existence, an Eternal Sea’. Known for their boundary-pushing immersive experiences, their latest work similarly blurs the lines between art, technology, the viewer, and the physical space. Another work not to miss, S_y_d_n_e_y_S_y_d_n_e_y_ (Gadigal Country/Sydney) will be presenting a work on paper from late American artist Donald Judd, widely considered as one of the most important artists of the 1960s and postwar period for his pivotal role in Minimalism and sculpture.

Must-See Solo Exhibitions

The Renshaws’ (Meanjin/Brisbane) will present a series of abstract paintings from 2025 Archibald Prize winner Julie Fragar, marking the artist’s first solo exhibition at an art fair.

Fragar’s text paintings and image-based works navigate the intersections of family history, portraiture, biography, and the spectrum of human emotions in a process that meticulously layers imagery from various sources. Charles Nodrum Gallery (Naarm/Melbourne) is showcasing a retrospective of Australian abstract artist Lesley Dumbrell, with works spanning her celebrated career from the 1960s to never-seen-before pieces. MAGMA Galleries (Naarm/Melbourne) will present an immersive exhibition by Drez, featuring paintings, wall-based sculptures, and light-driven installations that invite audience participation. Mary Cherry Contemporary (Naarm/Melbourne) is showing young feminist artist Ruth O’Leary whose performative works explore female bodily autonomy; and Sophie Gannon Gallery (Naarm/Melbourne) is exhibiting paintings from young emerging artist Elynor Smithwick.

First Nations Artists to Celebrate

The William Mora Indigenous Art Centre Program supports the participation of Indigenous-owned art centres, funded by the Australian Government through the Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support (IVAIS) initiative, and generously supported by Morgans Financial Ltd. This program recognises the crucial role art centres play in sustaining First Peoples arts and communities, and in sharing the stories of Indigenous Australians. In 2026, MOA Arts (Mua Lag/Moa Island) will return with a compelling duo show, featuring Paula Savage’s iconic weaving works and prints; and large-format, framed ‘pochoir’ (mono-prints) on paper by Moa Arts founding member and Chairman, Solomon Booth. Jilamara Arts & Craft Association (Milikapiti/Wulirankuwu), Munupi Arts & Crafts Association (Pirlangimpi/Garden Point), and Papunya Tjupi Arts(Warumpi/Papunya) also return to the fair, and for their MAF debuts, Walkatjara Art (Uluru) and Ikuntji Artists (Ikuntji/Haasts Bluff) will add to the lineup of Indigenous-owned art centres. Walkatjara Art will present a suite of twelve recent works by revered elder and songman Reggie Uluru. Each work embodies his deep connection to Country and the ancestral story of Wati Ngintaka – the Perentie Lizard Man. As senior traditional custodian of Uluru, and a key figure in the historic 1985 handback of Anangu lands, Uluru’s authority as a cultural leader is woven into every canvas.

Celebrated Wik-Mungkan elder/artist Janet Koongotema is represented this year by D’LAN GALLERIES (Naarm/Melbourne, Gadigal Country/Sydney, Lenapehoking/New York), with a solo show exhibiting new paintings and three-dimensional fibre works sharing the artist’s authoritative knowledge of Country. Emilia Galatis Projects (Whadjuk boodjar/Perth) will present a solo body of work from rising star Corban Clause Williams. Experienced as an immersive installation, the Martu artist has developed a range of floor coverings to accompany large-scale paintings alongside a series of accessible works on paper that speak to the essence of “Kalpaa”, a major theme in his work. Following sell-out exhibitions in 2024 and 2025, Niagara Galleries (Naarm/Melbourne) is presenting new paintings by emerging Mudburra artist Arthur (Jalyirri) Dixon, in addition to a selection of images from Brenda L. Croft’s acclaimed large-scale photomedia portrait series ‘Naabámi (thou shall/will see):

Barangaroo (army of me)’. Nanda/Hobbs (Gadigal Country/Sydney) is exhibiting works from senior Pertama Maduthara Luritja artist Selma Coulthard, whose practice is rooted in the Australian landscape and ancestral storytelling. Tolarno Galleries (Naarm/Melbourne) will present an installation from Tennant Creek Brio.

Chinese Market Representation

Increasing representation of the Asian art market includes Tido Art (Naarm/Melbourne) which recently relocated from China to Melbourne and will present a solo exhibition ‘Red in Silence’, a series of contemporary porcelain and ink works on paper by Chinese-born, Melbourne-based artist Darian Duan. In addition, REDBASE Art (Naam/Melbourne, Gadigal Country/Sydney, Yogyakarta, Indonesia) will be showing a solo presentation of senior Chinese artist Shen Shaomin. Known for his experimental and conceptual installations, Shaomin’s Chinese Carp will be on show at MAF, an installation of mechanical carps that illustrate the consequences of human desire and artificiality, evoking concerns and reflections on our ecosystem and technology. Nanda/Hobbs (Gadigal Country/Sydney) will be exhibiting works from Australian/Chinese artist Jun Chen, whose gestural works shaped by Chinese painting traditions capture the shifting energy of the Australian landscape.

FUTUREOBJEKT Highlights

Noteworthy Solo Exhibitions/Pioneers of Australian Design

Seasoned industrial designer Adam Goodrum (Gadigal Country/Sydney) is presenting a new chair and table concept as a continuation from his partnership with Cappellini; Melbourne-based Volker Haug Studio (Naarm/Melbourne) will present a new limited-edition collection of mouth-blown Murano glass lamps produced in Venice; Don Cameron (Gadigal Country/Sydney) will showcase a considered mix of rare vintage collectible design pieces together with new works of his own including a series of lamps and nesting seating concepts; CHRISTOPHER BOOTS (Naarm/Melbourne) will reimagine some of the lighting studio’s most well recognised pieces in new and limited-edition finishes while Adam Cornish (Naarm/Melbourne) will present a new couture collection of mosaic mirrors informed alongside a sculptural rocking chair. Tom Fereday (Gadigal Country/Sydney) will present a cluster of sculptural stone plinth lights alongside his ‘Cast’ speaker, clad in marine-grade aluminium and designed in collaboration with Tasmanian audio design duo Pitt & Giblin.

Independent Australian Designers

Bringing together four of Melbourne’s most compelling female designers, E4 (Naarm/Melbourne) will combine independent studios Cordon Salon, Rosanna Ceravolo, Jordan Fleming and Marta Figueiredo to present a shared booth. Cordon Salon expands on the runaway success of her Garniture lighting collection, Jordan Fleming and Rosanna Ceravolo will present Soft Monument, their recently released architectural lighting

collaboration alongside a selection of solo works from their individual practices, and Marta Figueiredo presents large-format furniture pieces informed by her art practice, marking a return to the domestic scale after several years focused on major public commissions. In another collaborative mode, rising stars Annie Paxton ((Naarm/Melbourne), Vogue Living’s VL50 Product Designer of the Year 2025, Rigg Design Prize 2025 shortlist) and Dalton Stewart ((Naarm/Melbourne), Interior Design Excellence Awards winner, Rigg Design Prize 2025 finalist) will join forces with a shared booth of curated lighting and objects from the designers.

Notable Group Exhibitions

CRAFT Victoria (Naarm/Melbourne) presents a series of works by designers Isabel Avendano-Hazbun, Claire Ellis and Locki Humphrey that explore new and unexpected materials. Returning MAF collaborators OIGÅLL PROJECTS (Naarm/Melbourne) will present new works from a series of local and international designers including Cologne-based Studio Kuhlmann, and Australian talent BMDO, Linda Valentic, Anna Varendorff, Douglas Powell, Brud Studia and Peter D Cole. OKO OLO (Gadigal Country/Sydney, Naarm/Melbourne) will present a curated group exhibition from founders Genevieve Hromas, Juliet Ramsey and lighting designer Charlie White. Agency Projects (Naarm/Melbourne) is presenting a group exhibition directed by First Nations art curator Shonae Hobson, including pieces from Helen Ganalmirriwuy and Roslyn Markapuy, speaking to the importance of intergenerational knowledge transfer within indigenous families and communities.

International Designers

London-based furniture designers Agglomerati will present a solo show in collaboration with Netherlands-based designer Maria Tyakina. Together they will expand on their collection previously shown at Milan Design Week 2025, reimagined in combinations of Australian timbers and stones.

Studio Gardner (Gadigal Country/Sydney) will make its MAF debut with an impressive lineup of international talent including decorative objects from acclaimed American fashion designer Rick Owens, Belgian designer Jumandie Seys, French lighting and furniture designer Pauline Esparon (Architectural Digest’s AD100), and Milan-based multidisciplinary duo Studio Utte (Architectural Digest’s AD100).

Ahead of the opening of TWENTY TWENTY (Naarm/Melbourne, Gadigal Country/Sydney, Boorloo/Perth) later in February, Australian retailer Mobilia will offer a preview of its new collectible design gallery concept through FUTUREOBJEKT. As a first taste, they will present a focused solo exhibition by Paris-based designer and architect Joris Poggioli (Architectural

Digest’s AD100). The presentation centres on Poggioli’s iconic Rose sofa, shown alongside a considered edit of sculptural works and lighting. Drawing on his Italian-French heritage, the works balance French elegance and refinement with an understated Italian eccentricity, offering a glimpse into the curatorial direction of TWENTY TWENTY ahead of its formal opening.

“FUTUREOBJEKT is a bit of a provocation. It’s not trying to define design neatly, it’s about showing where it gets messy, ambitious, and deeply human. It brings together designers, artists, makers and brands who care about process, material and ideas, and brings them into conversation in a way that feels alive, not fixed,” said Andy Kelly, Director, Collectible Design at Melbourne Art Fair.

Partner Highlights

LOEWE

MAF has announced the renewal of its partnership with LOEWE for 2026, marking the second consecutive year the global luxury house will join the Fair as its exclusive fashion partner. As the 19th edition of MAF unfolds in February 2026, the collaboration once again unites Australia’s most iconic art event with the luxury fashion house internationally celebrated for celebrating and elevating contemporary craftsmanship since 1846.

To mark LOEWE’s involvement, two bespoke LOEWE Newsstands will be showcased at the Fair, offering visitors an engaging moment of discovery and storytelling. Each newsstand will present the new MAF Broadsheet, available complimentary for guests to collect at the fair.

Melissa Loughnan, Fair Director, Melbourne Art Fair said “Authentic partnerships are integral to MAF’s success and it’s such a pleasure to collaborate with forward-thinking brands who share our mission for supporting artists, designers and craftspeople. We’re excited to have LOEWE expand our partnership in 2026 and introduce a physical brand presence at MAF this year, demonstrating the growing connection between the worlds of art, fashion and design”.

The House continues to uphold its heritage of traditional craftsmanship while simultaneously redefining new frontiers of creative expression – a vision brought to life through LOEWE’s ongoing commitment to art, design and craftsmanship, realised via specialist collaborations at Salone del Mobile and global platforms such as the internationally acclaimed LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize which will be held in Singapore for the first time later this year.

Events & Programming

2026 CONVERSATIONS presented by Guardian Australia

A platform for critical discourse and the sharing of ideas, CONVERSATIONS, brings together cultural communities and thinkers from across the creative spectrum. The aim: to address the future of art and its relationship to interdisciplinary practices and the contemporary world through a series of talks and panels featuring artists, gallerists, curators, collectors, architects, critics, scholars and cultural luminaries.

This year, the CONVERSATIONS series will be hosted in ‘The Bubble’, a custom inflatable structure designed by OIGÅLL PROJECTS (Naarm/Melbourne). Intended to shift, breathe, and adapt, The Bubble’s semi-translucent walls will create a deliberately voyeuristic experience inviting passersby to catch fragments of conversation and participate in discussions as desired.

Highlights from the CONVERSATIONS program include: VIDEO – In Conversation With Video Curator Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel

Saturday 21 February, 1:30PM

Join VIDEO 2026 curator and international talent Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel, director of Fondation Lafayette Anticipations in Paris as she speaks with Bianca Durrant, Director of Melbourne-based technological art organisation Experimenta, and Emily Sexton, Director of Curatorial, Programming and Education for ACMI, Australia’s museum of screen culture. Together, they’ll discuss their approaches to curating video and new media art, and the future of exhibiting in this ever-changing sector.

Women’s Art Register – Things That Keep Us Together Roundtable Discussion Saturday 21 February, 2:30PM

The Women’s Art Register recently turned 50 – a major milestone for an archive shaped by collective vision and sustained by volunteers. The new book, Keeping Things Together, brings the Register’s history and ongoing impact on Australian culture to life. To discuss this, one of the book’s authors Anna Daly joins founding member Meredith Rogers, artists Lesley Dumbrell and Azza Zein, and curator Maya Hodge for a lively discussion on art, archives, and feminism and to celebrate the things that keep community organisations together through the highs and lows of social change.

Complementary to the addition of FUTUREOBJEKT in 2026, the CONVERSATIONS program will also see the introduction of CONVERSATIONS ON DESIGN, presented by NHO (Naarm/Melbourne) and facilitated by founder Neil Hugh Kenna.

From Creativity to Capital: Scaling Practice in a Global Economy

Friday 20 February, 1:30pm

Designers and studios face structural obstacles, from manufacturing and logistics to financing, shaping their ability to operate at scale. How can creative practices negotiate these constraints while preserving integrity and ambition? Emerging and established designers and manufacturers Volker Haug, Jordan Fleming, and Susan Tait will discuss the strategic pathways toward commercial viability, examining how local grounding and global engagement intersect in building sustainable, resilient design practices.

Collecting with Conscience: Power, Privilege and the Politics of Collecting

Friday 20 February, 2:30pm

A new generation of collectors is reshaping the landscape by insisting on greater transparency around diversity, sustainability, and ethical practice. Their expectations are reframing not only how objects are valued but how institutions and markets position themselves. In this conversation, Executive Director of Craft Victoria Nicole Durling, interior designer Brahman Perera, and General Manager of Agency Projects Mayatili Marika will discuss how social activism and ethically driven collecting are influencing decision-making, expanding visibility for underrepresented artists and designers, and redefining what responsible stewardship looks like in the decades ahead.

Fetishizing Function: The Cultural and Economic Codes of Collectible Design

Friday 20 February, 3:30pm

As the market for collectible design accelerates, how do objects transition from utilitarian items to cultural artefacts? When is a chair simply a chair, and when does it become a vessel of artistic, historical, or speculative value? Join NGV Curator of Contemporary Design and Architecture Gemma Savio and designer Anna Varendorff for a discussion on the criteria that shape collectability, the forces currently defining the market, and the trajectories influencing its future.

The full CONVERSATIONS schedule can be found online HERE.

There are a couple more announcements still to come, but it’s here, it’s happening, and we can’t wait.

Click here to secure your tickets.

ABOUT MELBOURNE ART FAIR For four days each February, Melbourne Art Fair transforms the city into a meeting place for the curious and the devoted. Leading galleries and Indigenous-owned art centres converge with collectors, artists, and those simply drawn to the hum of new ideas. The air is thick with conversation, drinks are poured, stories are traded, and somewhere in the crowd, someone falls in love with an idea that will follow them home.

For more than thirty-eight years, Melbourne Art Fair has been a defining fixture on the Australasian cultural calendar, supporting and promoting living artists through the staging of a world-class contemporary art fair. It is a place to wander, to pause, to talk and to see the world, briefly, through someone else’s eyes. Presenting works from the region’s most respected artists and galleries, and their newest, most exciting counterparts, the Fair stimulates critical and commercial attention, ensuring that the conversations that begin here continue to resonate long after the lights go out.

This is art.

This is Melbourne.