More than 100 of Australia’s most talented emerging artists took part in The Other Art Fair this year, a dynamic four day event situated in one of Australia’s most dynamic cultural hubs.

From 27-30 October, Commune hosted the fair in Waterloo, building on the success of the Fair’s debut in Sydney during 2015. The idea was to get unrepresented artists and locals to meet in an informal setting to talk about art, ideas and collecting. Guests wore sneakers, drank Young Henrys beer and mingled in the packed halls, which were full to the brim with original new paintings, sculpture and photography.

The atmosphere was electric, as artists manned their own stands and chatted to the visitors who passed by. Artists came from as far away as Perth and New Zealand to show their work, and talk to collectors. This year the guest professional artist was Sarah Contos from Roslyn Oxley9 (the only represented artist showing work). The Roslyn Oxley9 stand sold a special limited edition range of silk screen prints, made from Contos’s inimitable collages and collectors flocked to buy them.

“What is a home without art?”, was the question we posed to visitors of The Other Art Fair, when they visited the minimalist BresicWhitney lounge designed by Adam de Launay. Visitors were encouraged to stop and vote for their favourite artist, for their chance to win an artwork as part of the BresicWhitney People’s Choice Award, acknowledging outstanding participating artists.

Left: Allie Steward. Right: interior designer Adam de Launay.

Artists were on show and ‘front and centre’ at the fair. Many were emerging artists showing for the first time in a public exhibition and visitors had the chance to talk to the artists without any barriers. Melbourne artist Allie Steward said she felt a little nervous on the opening night. Her work which deals with artifice in society, discusses human imperfections through close up photographs.

Talking about her work she said, “I dislike the fact we as humans attempt to hide or deny these inevitable flaws. I feel as a photographer that these common occurrences have been neglected, we are so caught up in the idea of perfectionism we forget to come back and capture the reality of humanity.”

Artist stand: Paula do Prado

Local Sydney artist Paula do Prado showed a beautiful corner of mixed-media work with paintings and soft fibre sculptures inspired by her Afro-Uruguayan heritage. Visitors all commented on the diversity of work The Other Art Fair presented.

Left: Kirsten Junor. Right: Ben Hosking with James Leadston.

Fair Director Laura Richardson says this year, the stand out success was that artists really benefited. “The feedback from artists was overwhelmingly positive. Artists from every state sold many, many works, some even selling out. They loved the experience, as they got to connect to collectors and to each other.”

“In 2016 artist sales doubled and we engaged our visitors on many levels with exciting activities, competitions, delicious food and drinks and more. We had a lot more going on this year than in the debut year,” Richardson said.

Left: David Novak Piper with Zoe Porter. Right: Maria Diaz and Natalie Robinson.

Left: Fair Manager Zoe Edema. Right: Christie Morgan with Chris Golden.