Melbourne Art Fair’s Maree Di Pasquale on the City’s Top Picks
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p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 16.0px; font: 10.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #3b3b3b; -webkit-text-stroke: #3b3b3b} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} As the flagship event of Melbourne Art Week — the Melbourne Art Fair, the 2018 edition ofMelbourne Art Fair’s Maree Di Pasquale on the City’s Top Picks
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 16.0px; font: 10.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #3b3b3b; -webkit-text-stroke: #3b3b3b} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} As the flagship event of Melbourne Art Week — the Melbourne Art Fair, the 2018 edition of which runs August 2–5 — will feature 40 galleries that showcase contemporary artists from Australia, New Zealand and the region. When it was spearheaded in 1988, the Melbourne Art Fair was the first commercial fair of the Asia Pacific to establish a network for collectors within the Australian art market.A multifaceted program beyond the fair itself adds further dimension: The Project Rooms serve as a non-profit platform to present experimental work, a roster of interviews and panel discussions that promote dialogue and education around contemporary art practices and the global art market, and a site-specific video sector, TIME, extends across the city, focusing on female artists including Michaela Gleave (Anna Pappas Gallery, Melbourne) and Sriwhana Spong (Michael Lett, Auckland).Maree Di Pasquale, the Director and CEO of the Melbourne Art Fair since June 2017, came to this position after serving as a founding Director of Art Central Hong Kong (2014-2016). Pasquale revealed her favorite addresses for where to get good vintage items, where to stay out, al fresco, until 3 am, and — no small feat— where to sip the best coffee in Australia.BLOUIN ARTINFO spoke to Pasquale about the Melbourne Art Fair and the many attractions of the Australian city. Excerpts from the interview:How long have you been living in Melbourne?I have had a home here for seven years, and been living full-time since 2015.What are your “can’t leave without seeing this” recommendations for the city?Melbourne is more about experience than sightseeing. It’s about laneways, hidden rooftop bars, great food, live theater, experimental exhibitions and blockbuster museum shows. Although, if you are lucky enough to visit during summer, I would recommend a visit to MPavilion: a bold architecture commission and cultural laboratory developed by arts patron Naomi Milgrom AO. The 2018 MPavilion is designed by influential Barcelona-based architect Carme Pinos of Estudio Carme Pinos.What is the most overrated thing people advise visitors to check out when they’re in town?Brighton bathing boxes.What restaurants and/or cafes would you recommend (and what makes them unique)?Melbourne institution Cafe Di Stasio (St Kilda) with its white-jacket waiters, clean flavors and work by Melbourne-based, internationally recognized artist Callum Morton. Cumulus Inc. on Flinders Lane for breakfast — it’s worth the wait in line — and Miss Korea in Box Hill, an amazing Korean BBQ restaurant which is 14 km out of the city.What would you do if you had a free morning or afternoon in Melbourne?Take myself to Heide Museum of Modern Art: a public museum and modernist architectural icon with a rich social and artistic history that brings together art and architecture of the 20th and 21st century. The museum has an ambitious exhibition program and stunning sculpture garden that fills you with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia.Where would you head for the best shopping? Melbourne’s central business district and look out for favorites Lucy Folk on Crossley Lane and Marais on Bourke. Head to Collingwood for vintage design at Modern Times, Smith Street Bazaar, and Bruce boutique for vintage fashion.What’s an authentic item you could only buy locally?ST. Ali coffee beans by Salvatore Malatesta. Best coffee in Australia.Where would you recommend people stay when they visit? (i.e. favorite neighborhood, and/or favorite specific hotel/s?)QT Melbourne on Russell Street. Immaculate rooms with an impressive art collection developed under the guidance of Amanda Love, the hotel is in the heart of the fashion and gallery district and boasts a great rooftop bar.What are the best venues to check out exhibitions or collections in the city?Southbank Arts Precinct is home to many of Australia’s most important institutions, galleries and major events, including the new Melbourne Art Fair. I highly recommend a visit to the National Gallery of Victoria, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (or ACCA as its affectionately known) and the newly opened Buxton Contemporary, a University of Melbourne museum formed from the extraordinary gift of collector and philanthropist Michael Buxton. The best part is that they are all within walking distance from one another.What are the best places to buy art?I am an advocate for commercial galleries and Melbourne has some of the best in the world. For those that are less familiar with the scene, Melbourne Art Fair is the best place to view a range of works from the region’s most important and exciting artists, represented by the region’s most respected galleries.What are the ideal spots to see live music?Melbourne has managed to protect its live music scene even though it constantly comes under attack by developers and the sensitive-eared. Melbourne’s North-side, Fitzroy and Collingwood, are the best spots to find live music any night of the week.Do you have a favorite book representative of Australia, or author who writes about the region in an especially evocative way?“Picnic at Hanging Rock” by Joan Lindsay has to be one of Australia’s greatest novels.What are your favorite bars to relax in after spending the day at the fair?Siglo, an open-air rooftop terrace on Spring Street, open through 3.00 am, or the delightful Madame Brussels by Miss Pearl.What are you most looking forward to about this latest edition of Melbourne Art Fair?The fair’s new, highly selective format: it presents 40 leading galleries from Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia, with a focus on solo presentations. This is quite a departure from previous editions, as is its new location in the heart of the Southbank Arts Precinct alongside the iconic Australian Centre for Contemporary Art.Other highlights include the unveiling of the Melbourne Art Foundation Commission, which in 2018 has been awarded to Ronnie van Hout and commissioned in partnership with Bendigo Art Gallery. There’s the debut of video sector, “Time”: a public moving-image platform that presents the work of four artists across Melbourne, including Jess Johnson’s “Webwurld,” which offers a glimpse into the hallucinatory netherworld of Johnson and her collaborator Simon Ward. You can catch it on the big screen at Federation Square, from July 30 to August 5.http://www.blouinartinfo.comFounder: Louise Blouin p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 17.0px Georgia; color: #d81e00} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 32.0px Arial; color: #232323} span.s1 {text-decoration: underline ; font-kerning: none} span.s2 {font-kerning: none} Read more