COMMISSION
Established in 2006, the Melbourne Art Foundation Commission program provides a living artist with a rare opportunity to realise a large-scale work for unveiling at Melbourne Art Fair, which is later gifted to a prominent Australian institution.
Previous partners in the program have included AGWA, ACMI, HOTA Gallery, Bendigo Art Gallery, NGV, QAGOMA, the University of Queensland Art Museum, MCA, Art Gallery of South Australia, National Gallery of Australia; and artists Julie Rrap, Kaylene Whiskey, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, Ronnie van Hout, Michael Parekōwhai, David Griggs, Peter Hennessey, Jon Campbell, Ian Burns, and Mikala Dwyer.
In 2025, two ambitious new works from leading international artists represented by Australian galleries, Yona Lee and Dawn Ng will be showcased at Melbourne Art Fair 2025.
BEYOND
Harnessing the monumental exhibition spaces within the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, BEYOND presents four large-scale installations and spatial interventions from leading contemporary artists. Melbourne Art Foundation supports the sector by providing a monetary grant to participating galleries.
In 2025, BEYOND is curated by Anna Briers, Curator Len Lye & Contemporary Art, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery (Aotearoa/New Zealand), and guest Curator at The University of Queensland Art Museum (Meanjin/Brisbane).
VIDEO
VIDEO offers a dynamic presentation of thought-provoking and highly collectible contemporary works in moving-image art, featuring emerging and established artists from around the world.
The 2025 edition of VIDEO is curated by Rachel Ciesla, Senior Curator for The Art Gallery of Western Australia’s Simon Lee Foundation Institute of Contemporary Asian Art (Boorloo/Perth).
PROJECT ROOMS
A platform for experimentation, PROJECT ROOMS provide an opportunity for public and independent art spaces from around Australia to present innovative and experimental work within the context of a major international visual arts event.
In 2025, Melbourne Art Fair welcomes West Space (Naarm/Melbourne) and Adelaide Contemporary Experimental (ACE) (Tarntanya/Adelaide) with the presentation of multi-disciplinary artists that span installation, sculpture, sound and performance.
PROJECT ROOMS is presented by Alpha60.
WILLIAM MORA INDIGENOUS ART CENTRE PROGRAM
The William Mora Indigenous Art Centre Program (WMIACP) provides a fully funded exhibition package for Indigenous-owned art centres to participate in Melbourne Art Fair. It aims to promote and provide curatorial and commercial opportunities for Indigenous artists working on Country and in communities across Australia.
The 2025 Fair welcomes the return of Moa Arts (Mua Lag/Moa Island), Munupi Arts & Crafts Association (Pirlangimpi/Garden Point), Papunya Tjupi Arts (Papunya) and Wik & Kugu Arts Centre (Aurukun).
CONVERSATIONS
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.
