By Susan Schwartz
Brisbane has unexpectedly outshone Sydney through an intriguing indicator of artistic interest.
The reason is the Affordable Art Fair which was recently held in Brisbane for the second year in a row, where crowd numbers beat the same event in Sydney.
Affordable Art Fair Director Stephanie Kelly Gordine said this year there were 13,300 visitors to the Brisbane Fair, with more than $3.3 million in works sold through 48 galleries.
“The visitor figures are higher than we have in Sydney which averages around 12,000; while Melbourne has around 17,000 visitors,” Ms Kelly said.
“Brisbane has some of the best art, and indigenous art; and so many artists have chosen to make Queensland their home, whether that be at the beach, in the suburbs or hinterland.”
Ms Kelly said part of the art fair’s role was to nurture artists, with a portion of the fair designed to support non-traditional galleries in the form of artists’ collectives (which are a group of artists who exhibit together to showcase their own work).
“We know how to coach the galleries and collectives, and we want them to focus on quality and on making art accessible and fun,” she said.
The Brisbane figures are growing, with the inaugural fair last year attracting 10,500 people, with $2.7 million sold through 42 galleries.
Irene Mengel of Aspire Gallery in Paddington said this year she sold more than 270 works, well into the six digits worth of sales.
“The big days and all the massive prep behind it, was very much worth it,” Mengel wrote on her Instagram account.
The success is far removed from founder Will Ramsay’s first experience with bringing the fair to Brisbane in 2008.
“It was a very different art scene then, and it didn’t really work for a number of reasons, including the fact that it was literally the day after the Global Financial Crisis had hit,” Ms Kelly said.
She said the current huge interest in art in Brisbane had made launching the fair in 2024 a no-brainer.
“We had people banging on our door, they kept asking when it was their turn. The people really wanted it which is the most important thing,” Ms Kelly said.
“There are so many different forms of art to choose from – it’s a place where you can really define your tastes and find out what you do and don’t like.
“There’s something for everyone too – you can come in for a glass of bubbles on date night, a coffee and croissant with friends, or take the kids for some free face painting.”
As for the competition from other, more established art galleries, Ms Kelly said she had spoken with one of Brisbane’s older more established art galleries which had welcomed the fair.
“Collecting art is addictive so, as the number of art lovers grow, so does the whole ecosystem,” she explained.
In other words, once you purchase some affordable art, the temptation is there to grow the budget for more expensive pieces.
And it’s not only the numbers game that Brisbane is winning, Ms Kelly said Brisbane has the best dressed crowds, with people really making an effort to dress in garments with stand-out colours that put the city ahead of Sydney and Melbourne.
The Affordable Art Fair will be back in Brisbane next year at the RNA Showgrounds Exhibition Building on the Mother’s Day weekend.
