The satellite exhibition has previously run in tandem with the Melbourne Art Fair, but will now go it alone.

Artists and art lovers across Australia were shocked last week by the unexpected cancellation of the 2016 Melbourne Art Fair. However a silver lining has now appeared around this dark cloud, as MAF satellite event, NotFair, has pledged to go ahead.

Launched in 2010 by arts writer Ashley Crawford and artists Sam Leach and Tony Lloyd, NotFair offers a platform to artists whose work doesn’t fit within the often rigid tastes of the commercial gallery sector. The not-for-profit organisation aims to celebrate artworks that may not have an immediate market appeal, as well as creating education and mentoring programmes for emerging talent. NotFair also acknowledges the most accomplished artist in its show with the Arkley Prize: a $10,000 award given to the artist selected as the “best in exhibition,” in honour of the Melbourne-born painter Howard Arkley.

NotFair founders Sam Leach and Tony Lloyd

The purpose of NotFair – representing artists neglected by commercial exhibitors – has taken on a particularly significant resonance this year, given that it...