The Spring1883 art fair takes up four storeys of Melbourne's Hotel Windsor.
The three-day event is inspired by The Armory Show, which began in the rundown Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City during the 1990s.
Galleries usually spend tens of thousands of dollars to show at established contemporary art shows, but with Spring1883, costs are determined by the size of the hotel room - with some galleries showing in a bedroom only.
Visitors buy a ticket and can pop into rooms of their choosing, with artworks even on display in bathrooms.
Unlike big events such as the Melbourne Art Fair, Spring1883 is more accessible, explained fair director Kate Barber.
"What was really important to us was to have a non-hierarchical fair, to have very experienced, established, extremely highly regarded galleries ... alongside young up-and-coming galleries with emerging artists," she said.
There are some challenges. The Windsor is a historic building. There's no hammering or drilling into the wall to hang a painting, so galleries have to be inventive, with paintings leaning in fireplaces and even balanced on wineglasses.
When it first started in 2014, the event attracted 20 galleries, and now in its ninth edition, there are 35 galleries showing artists.
Spring1883 runs from Thursday to Saturday.
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