FUTUREOBJEKT
Melbourne Art Fair 2026 introduces FUTUREOBJEKT, a commercially-focused contemporary design salon.
Part stage, part salon, FUTUREOBJEKT is a platform for discovery: a place where collectors encounter the new, the daring, and the exquisitely made.
Within the Fair’s vast architecture, FUTUREOBJEKT gathers the region’s most forward-thinking studios, galleries, and designers in a choreography of material and mind.
BEYOND
Transforming the monumental architecture of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, BEYOND presents three large-scale installations and spatial interventions from leading contemporary artists. Melbourne Art Foundation supports the sector by providing a monetary grant to participating galleries.
BEYOND is curated by Fair Director, Melissa Loughnan and in 2026 welcomes Judith Wright, Brenda L. Croft, and Fiona Hall.
PROJECT ROOMS
Supported by Melbourne Art Foundation, this non-commercial platform provides an opportunity for public and independent art spaces from the Australasian region to present innovative and experimental work, reshaping the edges of contemporary art.
In 2026, the program welcomes correspondences (Naarm/Melbourne) and play_station (Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington)
COMMISSIONS
Established in 2006, the Melbourne Art Foundation Commission program provides living artists with an opportunity to realise a large-scale work for unveiling at Melbourne Art Fair, which is later gifted to a prominent institution.
Previous partners in the program have included Govett Brester Art Gallery | Len Lye Centre, 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 Dawn Ng, Yona Lee, Julie Rrap, Kaylene Whiskey, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, Ronnie van Hout, Michael Parekōwhai, David Griggs, Peter Hennessey, Jon Campbell, Ian Burns, and Mikala Dwyer.
VIDEO
Dedicated to the presentation of moving-image art from local and international contemporary artists at the fore of the medium, VIDEO 2026 is curated by Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel.
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 Program is funded by the Australian Government through the Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support (IVAIS) program and generously supported by Morgans Financial Limited.
In 2026, the WMIACP welcomes:
Ikuntji Artists (Ikuntji/Haasts Bluff)
Moa Arts (Mua Lag/Moa Island)
Papunya Tjupi Arts (Papunya)
Walkatjara Art Uluru (Uluru)
Munupi Arts & Crafts Association (Pirlangimpi/Garden Point)
Jilamara Arts and Craft Association (Milikapiti)
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.
In 2026, the CONVERSATIONS Program is presented by Guardian Australia.
