About
For four days each February, Melbourne Art Fair transforms the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre 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.
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. 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.
Melbourne Art Fair has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory board, and Creative Victoria.
Melbourne Art Fair
19-22 February 2026
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The Foundation
Founded by a group of galleries in 1988, Melbourne Art Fair is today owned and operated by the Melbourne Art Foundation, an Australian nonprofit arts organisation dedicated to the support of living artists.
Since 2003, the Melbourne Art Foundation has distributed over AUD $1.5M in artist fees and grants, and facilitated an estimated AUD $80M in contemporary art sales at Melbourne Art Fair. With the endorsement of the Art Galleries Association of Australia (AGAA) the Fair continues to be a seminal fixture on the Australasian cultural calendar, stimulating critical and commercial attention for artists for over 35 years.
Melbourne Art Foundation produces the annual Melbourne Art Fair and, in 2025 produced in partnership with Creative Victoria, the Victorian First Peoples Art & Design Fair Showcase Exhibition.
The Board
PETER JOPLING AM, KC, CHAIRMAN
COMPANY DIRECTOR AND PHILANTHROPIST
Peter Jopling is a Melbourne-based King’s Counsel. Peter is the Chairman of the Ian Potter Museum of Art, Chair of the Sir Robert Menzies Memorial Foundation Ltd, Chair of Lucy Guerin Inc and Chair of the Melbourne University Humanities Foundation. Peter has been Deputy Chair of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, a Director of the McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery, and Director of the National Gallery of Australia Foundation. Peter was a Patron of the Australian World Orchestra as well as a member of the Victorian College of the Arts Foundation and is a Director of Pinchgut Opera, Lux Australis and the Victorian Art Centre Foundation. Peter has also held directorships of science and business school boards as well as various legal governing boards. In 2014 Peter was made a Member of the General Division of the Order of Australia for significant service to the law in Victoria and to the community.
MICHAELA WEBB
FOUNDER/CREATIVE DIRECTOR, STUDIO ROUND
With over 20 years’ experience, Michaela has worked for some of the world’s leading brand and design companies, including Wolff Olins and Spin in London, and in 2016 was elected as a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI). In 2002, Michaela founded Round with Robert Nudds, a design practice that connects culture, commerce and creativity to deliver transformative brands across arts & culture, food & drink, hospitality, publishing, property, retail and architecture & design. Michaela currently sits as an advisor on boards for RMIT Design Hub and Ian Potter Museum of Art.
ROSE HISCOCK
DIRECTOR OF MUSEUMS AND COLLECTIONS,
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE
Prior to the University of Melbourne, Rose was Director of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (Powerhouse Museum), Australia’s contemporary museum for excellence and innovation in applied arts and sciences. Rose’s career includes a period at the Australia Council, where she held the position of Executive Director, Arts Development and Museum Victoria where she was responsible for commercial and audience growth across Museum Victoria’s highly successful venues. She is committed to building a thriving and dynamic arts sector and is Board member of Back to Back Theatre and Chunky Move.
ADRIAN FINI OAM
FOUNDER/DIRECTOR, FJM PROPERTY AND FINI GROUP
Adrian Fini OAM is a prominent Perth business executive involved in property development and the arts. He was managing director of family company Fini Group. Following its merger with ASX-listed Mirvac in 2001, he became chief executive of the expanded Mirvac Fini Business. He was subsequently appointed an executive director of Mirvac Group, responsible for its development division before resigning in 2010 to concentrate on private business ventures through FJM property and the ‘reborn’ Fini Group. In July 2020, Fini Group and Linc Property merged their operations under the name Hesperia. Mr. Fini is a director of Perth Festival and the University of Western Australia Foundation. In 2016, Mr. Fini was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to the arts in Western Australia, and named the Western Australian of the Year.
NICHOLAS THOMPSON
OWNER/DIRECTOR, NICHOLAS THOMPSON GALLERY
Nicholas Thompson is the owner and director of Nicholas Thompson Gallery, a contemporary art gallery in Naarm/Melbourne founded in 2015. He previously worked for a decade at leading Australian galleries including Philip Bacon Galleries (Brisbane) and Australian Galleries (Melbourne). A graduate of the University of Queensland (BA Hons Art History) and the University of Melbourne (MA Curatorship), Nicholas is an approved valuer for the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program and a member of the Art Galleries Association of Australia. Since its inception, Nicholas Thompson Gallery has participated in every Melbourne Art Fair.
JACK WILKIE-JANS
ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS ADVOCATE
ARTIST & ARTSWORKER
Jack Wilkie-Jans is an established arts writer, multi-disciplinary artist, arts worker, and Aboriginal affairs advocate from Cape York Peninsula, based in Cairns/Gimuy, Queensland. After 12 years working across the contemporary First Nations visual arts sector (at all levels, domestically and internationally), in 2023 he launched his own consultancy practice: JWJ Consultancy. Professionally, Jack specialises in arts writing & review; policy guidance; governance and operational best, Cultural practice; artist representation; regional economic development; and land management. A Tribal Great-Grandson of Dr Thancoupie/Thanakupi Gloria Fletcher James AO, Jack is an Alumni of the National Gallery Leadership Program (2011). As an artist (painting, film and photography) his focus is on post-colonial narratives and non-Culturally specific artistic abstraction and exploration
ANDREW JENSEN
OWNER/DIRECTOR, FOX JENSEN GALLERY AND FOX JENSEN MCCRORY
JOANNA STRUMPF
CO-OWNER/CO-DIRECTOR, SULLIVAN+STRUMPF
Joanna Strumpf is the Co-Director of Sullivan+Strumpf, Sydney. Established in 2005 with Ursula Sullivan, the gallery is now one of the leading spaces for contemporary art in Australia working with over 40 contemporary emerging and established artists, and regularly participating in key national and international art fairs. Strumpf holds a Bachelor of Arts with Double Major in Art History from the University of Queensland and has held positions at Eva Breuer Art Dealer, Savill Galleries, Lawson-Menzies (Head of Paintings), and Deutscher Menzies (Art Specialist) before founding Sullivan+Strumpf. In 2021, Strumpf and Sullivan created The First Nation’s Fellowship Gift Fund in partnership with The Institute of Modern Art (IMA, Brisbane), that looks to give opportunities to emerging First Nations curators through projects with the IMA. In 2022, Sullivan+Strumpf expanded by opening a second Australian space in Melbourne.
ALAN PIGOTT
COMPANY DIRECTOR AND ADVISOR
Alan Pigott is a non-executive director and advisor who brings experience in strategy, business planning, governance, people and culture to the Board. He has a deep working knowledge of the for-profit, not for profit sectors and public sectors. He is passionate about the visual arts sector in Australia.
Alan has held senior positions across all levels of government including the Premier’s Department of NSW and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Before joining the private sector, Alan was the Deputy Chief Executive of Job Futures, a significant provider of employment services managing Federal and State Government contracts across 166, often remote locations. He was previously Director Arts Development with the NSW Ministry for the Arts and the General Manager of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. Most recently he was based in Hong Kong for 12 years working in the payments and eCommerce industry.
Alan is also a non-executive director of the Tweed Regional Art Gallery and Margaret Olley Art Centre Foundation Ltd., as well as other assorted for-profit Boards.
ANDREW KIRK
DIRECTOR, MISTER KIRKY PRESS OFFICE
Andrew Kirk is the founder of Mister Kirky Press Office. Established in 2015 and building on 20 years experience in public relations and brand strategy, Andrew delivers purposeful storytelling and connection to a global roster of clients in design, art, culture, travel and hospitality.
DAINE SINGER
OWNER/DIRECTOR, DAINE SINGER GALLERY
Daine Singer has been a gallery owner and director since 2011. As a gallerist and curator, she is committed to ethical art dealing and fully supporting artists. In addition to her dynamic gallery program, Daine has curated exhibitions for organisations including the National Gallery of Victoria, Experimenta Media Arts, Contemporary Art Tasmania and Salamanca Art Centre. Daine has also published four limited edition artist books through her independent small press, VERSION. Prior to opening her own gallery, Daine held positions including Gallery Manager at Anna Schwartz Gallery, Associate Curator at Experimenta Media Arts, and Curator at the Museum of Chinese Australian History. Daine has previously sat on the Business Advisory Council of the City of Yarra, the MLC Friends of Art Committee, and on the board of Blindside, and is a member of the Art Galleries Association of Australia. Daine has an interest in supporting younger generations’ entry into the art world, and has been a mentor to the University of Melbourne’s Arts Career Mentoring Program, the Seventh Gallery Emerging Curator Program, Wundergym, Shotgun at Contemporary Art Tasmania, and The Smith Family’s iTrack Mentor program. She has a BA (art history and history), Grad Dip in Arts Management, and Master of Art Curatorship from the University of Melbourne.
Key people
MARY WENHOLZ
CEO
Having worked across a global network of art fairs and some of the region’s most significant commercial galleries, Mary Wenholz has developed extensive relationships across Australasia’s cultural sector. Mary joined the Melbourne Art Foundation in 2022 in the post of Director of Events and Operations, overseeing the successful launch of the inaugural Melbourne Design Fair delivered in partnership with the National Gallery of Victoria. Mary has also been involved in the successful delivery of seven editions of Sydney Contemporary (2015-2022), in addition to contributing to fairs internationally including Art Central Hong Kong (2014, 2015, and 2017), Art16 London (2016), and the Melbourne Art Fair (2014). As Event Manager, Mary delivered a city-wide program for Art Month Sydney (2016 and 2017). Prior to this, Mary was the Associate Director at Anna Schwartz Gallery, Sydney, overseeing the staging of significant exhibitions including Erwin Wurm, Candice Breitz and You promised me, and you said a lie to me, curated by Alexie Glass Kantor. From 2008 – 2013, Mary was Associate Director at Gallery Barry Keldoulis, managing the gallery’s relationship with artists and collectors, and its participation at Art Basel Hong Kong, Art Stage Singapore, Korean International Art Fair (KIAF) and the Melbourne Art Fair. Mary has a BA (Hons) and MFA from Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney.
MARY@MELBOURNEARTFOUNDATION.COM
MELISSA LOUGHNAN
FAIR DIRECTOR
Melissa Loughnan founded Utopian Slumps in 2007, shifting it from a non-profit to a commercial model in 2010 and operating until the end of 2014. During this time Utopian Slumps participated in numerous local and international art fairs, including Melbourne Art Fair, Sydney Contemporary, Auckland (Aotearoa) Art Fair, Art Stage Singapore, Art Forum Berlin, Art Fair Tokyo and Art Basel Hong Kong. Melissa shifted the business to a consulting agency in 2015, with a focus on public art advisory projects.
Melissa self-published Utopian Slumps: The Collingwood Years in 2011 and authored Australiana to Zeitgeist: An A to Z of New Australian Contemporary Art, Thames and Hudson, 2017. She has presented at various curatorial symposia and participated in panel discussions across Australia and internationally. She recently served a six year term on the Board of West Space.
MELISSA@MELBOURNEARTFOUNDATION.COM
JODIE KRAS
DIRECTOR, GALLERIES
Jodie Kras has over 10 years of experience in the art industry, working across commercial galleries, biennales, art fairs and auction houses in Melbourne and Sydney.
Jodie’s passion for helping the next generation of art collectors led her to establish The Arts Club in 2018, a series of pop-up exhibitions in unique locations aiming to bridge the gap between emerging artists and collectors. The Arts Club created spaces distinctly different to the setting of a traditional gallery and sourced unique works by emerging artists at affordable prices.
JODIE@MELBOURNEARTFOUNDATION.COM
ANDY KELLY
SENIOR MARKETING & PARTNERSHIPS MANAGER
With a background in fashion and design media, Andy has been instrumental in launching several brands into the Australian market. His passion for creating dynamic, engaging collaborative events, coupled with his ability to craft compelling stories and content that resonates, has shaped a rare skill set. Andy is adept at creating and executing marketing strategies that align with both emerging trends and timeless principles.
ANDY@MELBOURNEARTFOUNDATION.COM
CRISTINA ULLOA SOBARZO
MARKETING AND CONTENT MANAGER
Cristina Ulloa Sobarzo is an emerging arts professional. She has previously worked with Clemenger BBDO, leading the digital implementation of campaigns for Myer. During that time, she also volunteered with SYN radio as an executive producer for their flagship arts and culture show, Art Smitten. There, she was able to further cultivate her love of the arts, interviewing working artists around Naarm and beyond, while producing a weekly radio show and managing a team of volunteers. In 2020, during lockdown, she worked with RMIT Culture to produce a student belonging exhibition titled Museum of Me which looked to connect students during a time of social isolation.
She holds a Bachelor of Communications (Media), graduating from RMIT in 2021.
CRISTINA@MELBOURNEARTFOUNDATION.COM
ZACHARY CALLEJA
FAIR COORDINATOR
With a background in hospitality and events, and a growing body of work as a writer exploring art, design and creative identity, Zachary Calleja is an emerging voice interested in the possibilities of storytelling through collaboration and diverse creative practices. In his role as a writer and events coordinator for Oigåll Projects, he has contributed to the development of thoughtful, community-oriented programming and activations. His editorial work has appeared in publications including Union Magazine and The Local Project, where he explores the intersections of design, culture, and lived experience. His work for TCYK investigates the conceptual underpinnings of brand identity and product design, exploring the inherent narratives they possess. Grounded in a belief that meaningful stories emerge through shared process and experiences, Zachary continues to build a practice that is curious, responsive, and engaged.
ZACHARY@MELBOURNEARTFOUNDATION.COM
ELLA HOWELLS
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
As an artist, she has exhibited at Asbestos, George Paton Gallery, Cathedral Cabinet, 138 Gallery, Musee du Strip, 99% Gallery, Bus Projects and TCB Art Inc, and co-curated Paradoelia at Satchi & Satchi & Satchi (NZ).
She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Art History, Criticism and Conservation, Criminology) from the University of Melbourne, where she received a Miegunyah Student Award. In 2024, she received a scholarship from e-flux magazine to undertake studies in art criticism with The New Centre for Research and Practice, NYC.
ELLA@MELBOURNEARTFOUNDATION.COM
SARA LAMMARDO
VIP RELATIONS MANAGER
Sara Lammardo is passionate about bringing people closer with art. With experience across leading cultural organisations including the State Library of Victoria, National Gallery of Victoria, and Lyon Housemuseum, she has developed a flair for producing events, exhibitions and programs that invite audiences in and spark conversation. Attentive and collaborative, Sara works to create thoughtful experiences that nurture industry relationships and deepen engagement with Australian contemporary art.
Sara holds a Master of Arts and Cultural Management from The University of Melbourne and a Bachelor of Art History and Curating from Monash University.
SARA@MELBOURNEARTFOUNDATION.COM
VIP Relations
Partnering with Melbourne’s leading institutions, private museums and independent art spaces, the Melbourne Art Fair VIP Program celebrates the vibrancy of Victoria’s cultural landscape. The program engages an international network of collectors through invitation-only dinners, studio visits, private collection tours, exhibition openings, and private events. Melbourne Art Fair allows collectors to discover artists, galleries and artworld figures at the forefront of contemporary art, and experience the best of our host city, Melbourne.
For more information on the VIP Program, or to register your interest, please email:
