MELBOURNE.- FLAIR, an exciting new art event, will be held in Melbourne from 18 to 21 August. Over four days, the art galleries at the top end of Flinders Lane will host a series of events and exhibitions showcasing Melbourne’s dynamic arts community for artists and art lovers alike.

The program has been curated by ARC ONE Gallery, Arts Project Australia (supported by NKN Gallery), Craft, fortyfivedownstairs and Sofitel Melbourne on Collins.

Visitors to the festival will be able to experience a range of curated exhibitions, as well as have opportunities to meet the artists and sit in on forums and panel discussions with creatives. The major events of the program – the FLAIR Progressive Degustation and FLAIR Keynote Address – will be held on the Friday 19th and Saturday 20th August.

One of the unique exhibitions at FLAIR will be acclaimed photographer Robyn Stacey’s project, Are you experienced? Turning a hotel room at Sofitel Melbourne On Collins into a camera obscura, small groups of visitors will be invited to participate in this quite magical experience. Here And Now, featuring the work of twelve Arts Project Australia artists and curated by Global Arts Project will also be exhibited 24 hours a day at the Sofitel.

Two photographic exhibitions will be housed at fortyfivedownstairs, featuring A City Unpolarised by Steve Greenaway and The Coloured Girls by Lisa Minogue. Both with foundations in fashion, Greenaway encourages audiences to explore layers of shop fronts and international urban streetscapes, while Minogue’s vibrant series of photographs explores identity and race.

At ARC ONE Gallery, Robert Owen’s latest exhibition features a new suite of paintings from his eminent Music for the Eyes series. Using abstraction he explores the relationship between jazz and geometric arrangements of form and colour, Owen’s mesmerising canvases translate musical elements of time, rhythm and pitch through sight and feeling.

Nearby at Craft, Collective Material will explore the personal relationships individuals have with objects through focusing on the motives and methods of building. Works by key collectors will be on show, accompanied by essays and interviews unpacking the history of the collector and their collection.

Throughout the festival, informal discussion forums will be hosted by Arts Project Australia at their NKN Gallery pop-up location. Conversations will touch on the relationships between various individuals involved in the life cycle of art and supporting emerging talent.

FLAIR’s Progressive Degustation on Friday August 19th will be held across the curated venues, in association with local restaurants such as Cumulus and Pei Modern. The night will be a special opportunity to enjoy fabulous vegetarian food and art in intimate and exclusive settings.

This will be followed by the Keynote Address on 20 August presented by Michael Lynch CBE AM who will reflect on the current state of Australia’s arts industry. Michael has recently returned to Australia following stints at leading cultural institutions in Hong Kong and London.

Filling the gap previously occupied by the recently cancelled Melbourne Art Fair, FLAIR will join other cultural events Spring 1883 and NotFair during the month of August to bring a festival atmosphere to Melbourne over the four days.