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Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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A visual kaleidoscope at this year’s Melbourne Art Fair
HappeningsAlice Blackwood

A visual kaleidoscope at this year’s Melbourne Art Fair

Melbourne Art Fair brings the high energy each year and in 2024, marking its 17th edition with a mammoth program of showcases, activations and satellite presentations, MAF really embodied its theme of ‘ketherba/together’.


Amidst the buzz of people and visual kaleidoscope of exquisite art in all its imaginable forms and mediums, you can’t help but seek out the lightning strikes. The work of fibre artist and weaver Tammy Kanat (Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert), was a grounding moment – curious and compelling in its texture, colour, rhythm and balance: an almost miracle blend of beauty that occurs through Kanat’s intuitive artmaking. She was this year awarded the Richard Parker Award.

Top that with all the hottest names in the Australian and Melbourne art scene today – it was the perfect opportunity to put faces to the names you follow.

There are so many ways to dive into the MAF program – whether you’re an art aficionado, or a humble enthusiast – and this year’s program was interesting for its alignments with the likes of fashion brand Alpha60, renowned for its artistic partnerships and initiatives. For the 2024 MAF program, Alpha60 teamed up with artists Mikala Dwyer, Kate Rohde, and Lottie Consalvo to craft a set of purchasable bags that beautifully blend art and adornment. 

The opening night Vernissage is always highly anticipated, attracting an art-loving crowd of celebrities, media, artists, gallerists, dealers, collectors, designers and more. There was Troy Sivan wandering the aisles, alongside familiar faces such as Australian TV personality Shaynna Blaze, mainstays of the Melbourne creative scene David Flack (this year a MAF ambassador), and Georgia Cleary of Alpha60 (MAF official partner).

Interior designer David Flack of Flack Studio is a passionate proponent for art as both a source of inspiration and a foundational element of interior environments. Flack worked with MAF to bring an layer of immersion to its program with a whimsically opulent French Riviera bistro serving Piper-Heidsieck Champagne, and celebrating Darren Sylvester works.

Another appealing cross-over saw designer Jordan Gogos team up with Glenfiddich Whisky to create an art-drenched whisky bar, furnished with colourful textile art and sculptural furniture. Meanwhile Oigall Projects designed the VIP Lounge, a scaffolded structure that gave outliers a glimpse (and VIPs a close-up view) of collectible designs and sculptural artworks – two stand-outs being the Concentric Chair by Anna Varendorff, and the arrestingly red Oankali by Jeremy Blincoe.

MAF’s 2024 program encompassed 60 galleries and Indigenous arts centres presenting over 100 artists. Take the MAF Virtual tour here.

Melbourne Art Fair
melbourneartfair.com.au

Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert, photograph by Simon Hewson Fatografi.

About the Author

Alice Blackwood

Alice Blackwood is the Editorial Director at Indesign Media, and Editor of Indesign magazine and Indesignlive.com. She is a trained journalist and editor, with a background in branding and communications strategy. For more than 15 years Alice has been a passionate advocate of the architecture and design industry within Australia and the wider Indo-Pacific region. Through her work on international design festivals, regional awards programs including the INDE.Awards, as well as in print and digital media, she has helped establish numerous major platforms that recognise and celebrate the region’s most exciting architecture and design, and elevate those industry leaders into the global spotlight. “Our region’s design is defined by its fresh, yet hungry entrepreneurial spirit, its bold thought and brave actions, the flawless execution of complex ideas, and world-leading outcomes. I’m fascinated by all the moving parts of our architecture and design community – the businesses, the brands, the big-thinkers and everyday-doers.” Alice remains an active member of the Australian design and media industries as a Moderator, MC, Judge, Commentator, Mentor and Advisor. Among her main passions are workplace design, education design, healthcare design, wellness design, hospitality design and the business of design.

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Alpha60artArt Fairart fairsAustraliaDavid Flackexhibitionexhibition designexhibitionsFlack Studio


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Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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