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.

In 2026, Melbourne Art Foundation presents the Fair’s inaugural design commission, U lights and vases by Anna Varendorff. 

Celebrating its twentieth anniversary, Melbourne Art Fair also presented Cosmo McMurtry by Michael Parekōwhai. The eight-metre tall sculpture was originally commissioned by Melbourne Art Foundation and the NGV in 2006.