Melbourne is the arts and cultural capital of Australia. Worldwide it is also one of the eleven UNESCO Cities of Literature. May 1 – 3, 2015 the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) will present the first Melbourne Art Book Fair, set within a uniquely designed experience by Melbourne Architecture firm Fold Theory. The Fair is FREE and open to the public.
The Melbourne Art Book Fair at NGV International on St Kilda Road will provide a unique art, architecture and design experience and be the first of a series of annual art book events developed by the NGV. Visitors will have access to artists’ books, catalogues and monographs, periodicals and independent publications, showcasing new types of art publishing.
Making their Australian debut will be international guests Printed Matter (USA) who is the world’s leading non-profit organization dedicated to the dissemination, understanding and appreciation of artists’ books. They present the New York Art Book Fair each year. Featured publishers include Dawn Press, Surpllus, Perimeter Books, HeHe, Gertrude Contemporary, Romantic Press, 2-ply, Hamonica Books and many more. For this fair there will be a curated focus on Japanese publishing.
On Friday May 1st there will be a preview party event hosting more than 50 artist book publishers and stallholders with performances from a variety of artist and musicians with food and drinks and exclusive early access to limited edition publications at the fair. TICKETS $20 On Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 May, the fair is free to the public. In addition to the artist book stallholders, there will be talks, performances, readings, book signings, book launches and an international symposium.
Highlight events include book launches from landscape artist John Wolseley, contemporary artist Jon Campbell, photographer Yanni Florence and Australian artist Tom Nicholson. There will be keynote talks from Printed Matter (USA) about the possibilities of the book as an art form. Japanese publishers HeHe and Utrecht, creators of the Tokyo Book Fair, will discuss Japan’s love of beautiful artist-made books. Melbourne Art Book Fair – NGV International 1 – 3 May PROGRAM AND EVENTS | The Fair is free and open to the public.
