Overview
Do you live and breathe art but feel totally fed up with not being able to afford things to adorn your sad, white walls? With the first ever Supergraph: Contemporary Graphic Art Fair coming to the Royal Melbourne Exhibition Building this Valentine's weekend — yep, we just made it an entire weekend of love — all your woes are about to disappear.
A celebration of art and design in all its lovely forms, Supergraph aims to display leading artists alongside the best emerging talent, while making sure these limited edition works are available for every taste and budget. With a program that also includes drawing throwdowns and expert masterclasses, Director Mikala Tai explains how Supergraph came about and why this particular explosion of paper and cardboard might just be the most fun thing to happen to you all year.
CP: So, what is Supergraph?
MT: Supergraph is a three-day fiesta that celebrates design, print and illustration. It is a place to find the perfect piece of art for any budget (works start from a friendly $30) and — with a bar and endless supply of snacks from Melbourne's most loved food trucks — it is the perfect place the spend a weekend arvo. Ultimately, the idea of Supergraph developed from a want to buy art. I love art and most of my friends would love something for their walls but we don't have $3,000 to spend on a work. Supergraph is designed to ensure that anyone that attends will be able to snap up not only an affordable piece of art but an affordable piece of art they can't live without.
What can we expect the three days of Supergraph to look like?
It looks like an explosion of paper and cardboard has occurred in the Royal Exhibition Building. Expect master classes with The Jacky Winter Group's finest, a huge drawing table where you can try your hand at one of our hourly drawing throwdowns, 200 works hung in our salon that won't set you back more than $60, and booth after booth of design, printing and art-making before your very eyes. And, if you like a bit of party, we're getting festive for Opening Night on Friday and on Saturday, Indian Summer will be taking control of the decks.
We are quite small. There are only three of us in the core team but we work very closely with A Friend of Mine for all our design needs and Flock Agency for making the event run like a dream. Then, if you count all of our staff that come aboard to make it actually happen there are probably about 50 people involved.
What's an average day in the office for you and the team?
The best thing about this job is there is no average. The work, as with anything event based, is cyclical. So during the winter we are developing concepts, pitching ideas and making a wish list of creatives we want to work with, spring is all about signing all the creatives up to be involved. In the midst of summer we are in full production mode. I hope that autumn will bring a little bit of lounging! Today has seen us ponder how many slices are in a lime, visit a press check for our newspaper SuperNews, begin to build some signage and catalogue works arriving at our collections venue. Exciting stuff!
How have you gone about the task of finding artists to feature in the fair? As curator, have you found the process to be more intensive or organic?
As it is our first year it has been a little different to any other project I have worked on before where the event, exhibition or gallery is more well known. We had a very lengthy list of people on our wish list and we have been lucky enough that the majority said yes. In the past few months, it has been more organic as people have started to hear about us. With artists coming in from all around Australia, as well as New Zealand, Hong Kong, Thailand and London, we are pretty rapt with the final lineup.
What other projects have you worked on in the past?
I have been lucky enough to have worked in the art and design field since I finished uni. Most of these roles have been in a freelance capacity so I'm currently working with the NGV on Melbourne Now, with Portable Studios on an upcoming speakers tour, and will be back lecturing in Contemporary Art at RMIT come March. Previously I worked at the Melbourne Fashion Festival, quite a few art fairs and a commercial gallery in the city. Trust me, there was a lot of volunteering and interning before that.
What made you decide to venture out with Supergraph on your own?
I ask myself that everyday! I think I just really believed in the concept. It was one of the persistent ideas that I talked about a lot and when a few of my friends showed some interest in making it happen there was no turning back. It really was about ensuring I could work with people that I knew, trusted and could have fun with on the way.
Hardest thing about starting a business from the bottom up?
Doing everything! When you are doing something for the first time you have to make it all. Make that first spreadsheet template, find the person at the bank that wants to talk to you and create all your processes. It's hard work. But it stretches your brain and keeps you on your toes. However, after saying that, I am pretty keen on year two when we can tinker with the product rather than build it from the ground up.
And the best thing?
The best thing is when you make something and it works. I remember clearly when our website went live and Christian (our marketing and sponsorship man) and I looked at each other and freaked out when someone was browsing. I am fully prepared for the whole Supergraph team to be in awe on Opening Night when people that aren't our friends of family walk through the doors. That will most certainly be the best thing.
Where does Supergraph go from here?
We will be back in 2015 as an annual event. We also hope to turn up around the traps in other forms throughout the year and our online store of prints will be packed year round. Fun!
Supergraph is at the Royal Exhibition Building, 8 Nicholson Street, Carlton from February 14-16. Find out more and grab tickets here. Image credits in order of appearance: Mimi Leung, Will McKenzie, Alexandra Ethell & Oslo Davis.