What I Learned at the Affordable Art Fair

One of the biggest lessons I took away from the Affordable Art Fair was learning how to speak more openly about my art, but more importantly, how to speak with the person standing in front of it in that exact moment.

It’s not really about me, or even the work on the wall. What matters is them, the person looking, feeling, and connecting with the piece. I want to understand who they are, what choices they’re navigating, and whether my art is truly the right fit for their space and emotional world. There’s a sense of adventure in this: art, space, and people aligning in ways I could never have predicted.

This year has been shaped by design for me, exhibiting at Melbourne Design Week (NGV), the Design Show, Décor + Design, and collaborating with interior designers. These experiences have shown me that placement is an art in itself. Lighting, texture, colour nuances, and environment transform not only how we see a piece, but how we experience an entire space.

I’ve discovered a love for creating site-specific work, art that I know where it’s going and who it will live alongside. This process feels different from creating solely out of inner compulsion, which I continue to practice alongside these projects. Inner compulsion offers private dialogues, while site-specific projects open me to external dialogue, collaboration, and imagining how a piece will belong in a particular setting.

The Affordable Art Fair also reminded me that art is not only the feeling of being able to breathe, it’s also supported by practical considerations. Andy Warhol captured this well: “Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.” For me, this side of things simply provides the materials, space, and time that allow me to keep creating. Acknowledging this doesn’t compromise creativity; it widens perspective. It deepens understanding of the ecosystem of artists, galleries, collectors, and designers, and of what this current moment looks like, helping us all to thrive.

What I loved most was seeing my works in their new homes after the fair concluded. Standing in those spaces, watching the artworks come alive in rooms I could never have imagined, was extraordinary. When I first painted them, I couldn’t have foreseen the lives they would go on to lead or how beautifully they would belong where they now live.

The Affordable Art Fair taught me how to connect more deeply with people in a fair or show context, gave me a clearer vision of how art and viewers meet, and reminded me that every piece I create is an unfolding journey. It continues long after it leaves my hands, yet it always stays in my heart, connecting me to the world in a meaningful way.