Australia’s premier art fair, Sydney Contemporary, could be described as a giant art gallery, or a bustling art market.
Both of those descriptions are true, but taking a step back and noticing the patterns of what people are creating and buying, it’s also a place to take in Australian culture and art history as it’s being made – a concentrated summary of our present and a sneak peek into our future.
Sydney Contemporary Fair Director Zoe Paulsen said: “(The fair’s) impact extends far beyond the event itself, influencing art trends and discussions in the broader cultural landscape. It fuels new ideas and helps to define the future of contemporary art in Australia.”
Village Voice attended Sydney Contemporary 2024 at Carriageworks, an event known for facilitating the most concentrated period of art sales in Australia annually, with sales normally totalling around $20 million.
“We’ve got something for all budgets at the fair… with works starting from a couple of hundred dollars, right through to $3.35 million, which is a new price benchmark for both an Indigenous and a female Australian artist,” Ms Paulsen said.
The fair featured eighty-seven well-renowned Australian and international galleries, and more than four hundred artists, many of whom worked hard to create new works specifically to be exhibited for the first time at the fair.
Along with the highly-anticipated gallery exhibits, Sydney Contemporary also featured a secondary market art sale and a large works on paper section which included prints, watercolours, drawings, artists’ books, paper sculptures, photographs and zines.
Two Brisbane galleries exhibited at the fair: Parker Contemporary (South Brisbane), and The Renshaws (Fortitude Valley).
The fair also hosted a number of engaging talks, cutting-edge performances, large-scale installations, workshops, tours and live music, which all added to the art experience.
Sydney Contemporary Talk Curator Michael Do said: “Culture is at such a critical junction. We live in a time that is precarious, where many of us disagree on fundamental issues, not to mention some of the tighter economic outlooks ahead.
“My job as a curator is all about making linkages – linking time (the past to the present), linking ideas, linking geographies (Australia to the world), and most importantly, linking artists to audiences.
“[This year’s talks] are about the tensions that arise from these linkages and also the opportunities.
“Hopefully you’ll leave inspired and enlightened. It’s all about being generous, and more importantly than that, being generative,” Mr Do said.
For more information, head to https://sydneycontemporary.com.au/.
