Melbourne Art Fair
Precinct Night — Saturday 19 February
The first Australian art fair to be held since the start of COVID-19, Melbourne Art Fair has kicked off this week with an exhilarating program.
Collingwood Yards has joined forced with the legends at Melbourne Art Fair to bring life, music, conversation and dancing to the courtyard, galleries, studios and open spaces. Think artist talks, tours, discussion panels, music, projection art and live performances.
There’s a lot on for Precinct Night, so here’s our advice on making sure you discover all the exciting things on offer.
4pm — Grab a beverage from Padre Coffee and enjoy the green space of the courtyard.
This is going to be a marathon of an arty evening. Ease into it at Padre — get your hands around a cup of caffeinated goodness and recharge those batteries.
4:30pm — Visit Wanangaranytja Malangka | After Lightning at Bus Projects.
Go across the hallway to find Bus Projects and start your journey at this exhibit intergenerational project by the key artists from Tjungu Palya — an Indigenous owned and governed art centre based on the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia.
(Wanangaranytja Malangka | After Lightning at Bus Projects. 12–8pm)
5pm — Take in Stay Soft Salon at Stay Soft Studio.
Cross the courtyard to the Perry Street Building to say hi to the creatives who inhabit and share this collaborative working space and see a curation of their work. Expanding across multiple mediums, these projects and ideas have been birthed over the past two years and grown into their own from this studio.
(Stay Soft Salon at Stay Soft Studio. 5–7pm)
5:30pm — Settle in for Destiny at APHIDS HQ.
Head up to Level 2 and swing by APHIDS HQ to chat to the team, buy some limited edition merch from their collaboration with gig-economy workers in EASY RIDERS and watch their latest moving-image project DESTINY which will be screened on loop.
(DESTINY at APHIDS. 5–7pm)
6:00pm — Pop up to Arts Project Australia and West Space for a curator’s tour of Sincerely Yours.
Now head down a level to find Sincerely Yours, a group exhibition exploring fandom theory and the different ways artists and audiences engage with objects or subjects that inspire fannish love and devotion. The curator Sophia Cai will present an exhibition tour and talk at 6pm.
(Sincerely Yours at Arts Project Australia and West Space. 4–8:30pm)
6:30pm — Take a break for a rooftop drink at Runner Up.
Cross the courtyard once again to find the Johnston Street Building lift. Hit the L2 button and walk into a heavenly space. Simply the second best, Runner Up is Collingwood’s latest and almost greatest refreshment retreat. Give those feet a rest with a vino or a cocktail in hand, enjoying the views.
7pm —Explore Emily Floyd and Kate Beynon’s open studios.
Go downstairs to find an excellent double bill of open studios. First, meet the artist and enter behind the scenes into the world of Kate Beynon’s artwork — featuring family portraits, canine companions and a festive gathering of supernatural characters, guardian figures and kindred spirits.
Wander down the corridor a little and you’ll find Emily Floyd’s working studio, with sculptures and print works in progress.
(Open Studio. 6:30–8:30pm)
7:30 pm — Hope Street Radio and STATION.
By now you’ve been criss-crossing the courtyard all night, so we suggest you stay put for a time and soak up the atmosphere. Come for the food and wine, stay for the arts. Nadia and Jason Make Snacks with Music and Dancing is a sensorial event combining art, community, food and music.
8:00pm — Studio 15’s present Unpredictable Typologies.
Now head back up to Level 2 of the Perry Street Building to find Studio 15. Experimentations in unpredictable classification systems: rubbish as sculpture, plants as sound and cartographic snow. Four unique artists who work side by side.
(Studio 15. 6pm–late)
9pm — Centre for Projection Art
Projection art at its best. Stop by to see the works of past, present and incoming resident artists across our courtyard. Surface is the most immersive experience of Precinct Night, and it will be unforgettable.
