We went on day one. Here's what we saw, who we found, and why you should go!

The Melbourne Art Book Fair at the NGV, as part of Melbourne Design Week, had that energy in spades this year. Tables covered in zines, risograph prints, handbound books, and things that don't quite have a name but are very clearly art. It's one of our favourite days of the year and this one did not disappoint!!

We went in with a loose plan …. find our FFE community, see what everyone had been making. I left with a full tote bag and a lot of good feelings about independent publishing. 

A few stalls worth calling out:

Studio 55 (Alice Oehr & Carla McRae)
Alice and Carla's joint table as Studio 55 was one of the first stops and set the tone for the whole morning. Two bodies of work that are completely distinct and somehow completely at home next to each other. Colourful, considered, and always brilliant.

ARTS PROJECT AUSTRALIA
Always a highlight. Arts Project brings work from artists with intellectual disabilities and every year it's some of the most vital, distinctive work in the room. Stop here first. Or last. Just stop here.

Beyond our immediate community, the fair was fab artists and publishers. Mince Mag, Bacteria Books, Binatang Press, and Fiend Bookshop all had brilliant tables, the kind of publishers and makers who remind you that the small, careful, independently made thing is very much alive and well in this city.

I’ve come away inspired, slightly broke, and already looking forward to next year.

The fair runs until May 17th, 10am to 5pm at the NGV.

Go today. Go tomorrow. Bring a tote bag with some structural integrity!