MELBOURNE.- Melbourne Art Book Fair returns to the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, from March 16-19, 2017, with London-based Self Publish, Be Happy making their Australian debut as keynote guests. Formed in 2010, Self Publish, Be Happy assist young photographers in self-publishing their own photobooks.

The inaugural Melbourne Art Book Fair took place in 2015 and has since attracted more than 29,000 visitors, making it the most well-attended publishing event in the Asia-Pacific region. The third Melbourne Art Book Fair in 2017 will bring together international and local publishers and practitioners in a weekend of free talks, book launches, performances, and stalls featuring art, design, architecture and photography publications from around the world.

The 2017 Melbourne Art Book Fair will also feature a large-scale architectural commission by Sydney-based paper artist Benja Harney, and a full-day International Symposium on Typography featuring globally acclaimed practitioners Sara De Bondt and Radim Peško. The Symposium will be the third in a series presented in collaboration with the RMIT Design Futures Lab.

Coinciding with the NGV Festival of Photography featuring solo exhibitions by William Eggleston, Bill Henson, Patrick Pound, Zoe Cröggon and Ross Coulter, the Fair will include a focus on photography and explore the medium and artistic practice through a range of public programs and forums.

Keynote guests at past Melbourne Art Book Fairs have included Printed Matter, the creators of the New York and Los Angeles art book fairs, and Berlin/New York-based independent publisher Sternberg Press. Previous exhibitors have included Italian publishing house and art gallery Corraini Edizioni; esteemed German art book publisher Hatje Cantz Verlag; London-based art book publishers Open Editions and MACK; New Zealand publisher Ilam Press; and Swiss art book distributors Motto.