Australia's biggest art fair records $17.5m in sales

Buyers at Australia's biggest art fair, Sydney Contemporary, have spent more than $17.5 million on artworks at the event, which attracted over 25,000 visitors.

But the result has fallen short of 2023, when the fair surpassed $21 million in sales.

The fair's eighth edition was staged amid uncertainty in the global art market and a cost-of-living crisis in many Australian households.

Sydney Contemporary founder Tim Etchells was still happy with the event's result, saying it provided a vital boost for Australia's art market.

"There was a tremendous air of optimism as gallerists, artists and collectors all came together in a celebration of contemporary art," he said.

One of 87 galleries on show, D'Lan Contemporary, sold 35 artworks for a total of just over $1.7 million.

Another, LON Gallery, presented Indian painter Devi Seetharam's debut Australian solo show, which sold out.

Sales were consistently high on each day of the fair, reported Ralph Hobbs of Sydney gallery Nanda\Hobbs.

"My abiding memory of this year is the overwhelming joy that pervaded throughout the fair. It's just the tonic that the Australian art market needed," he said.

An expanded section of the fair showing works on paper also doubled its sales in 2024, said organisers.