Backwoods Gallery

Backwoods Gallery is a contemporary art gallery located in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood, Australia. Founded in 2010 by members of the Everfresh Studio and the 25 Easey Street community, the gallery emerged from the local graffiti and street art scene to become a significant venue for emerging artists from Australia and around the world. Over its fifteen-year history, Backwoods has played an integralek integral role in developing and promoting Australian street art, producing more than eighty exhibitions and supporting artists whose practices have expanded from urban interventions to gallery-based and public art contexts globally.

Backwoods Gallery opened in 2010 in the back streets of Collingwood, a inner-northern suburb of Melbourne. The gallery was founded by members of the Everfresh Studio, a collective known for its roots in graffiti and street art, together with the 25 Easey Street community. The name 'Backwoods' derived from an early Everfresh group show, rolling papers, and the gallery's location in the depths of Collingwood. From its inception, the gallery's purpose was to exhibit contemporary art by emerging artists. In its early years, Backwoods became closely associated with the then-fledgling Australian street art scene, providing a platform for artists working in graffiti and urban art forms. Over the subsequent decade and a half, both the founders and the collective of artists they represented evolved in their artistic practices, moving from local graffiti and street art into the broader contemporary art world, with works shown in galleries and public spaces internationally. This trajectory was mirrored in the gallery's curatorial development. In 2026, after fifteen years at its Easey Street location, the gallery announced its departure from the space, holding a final send-off event titled 'Take It Easey' on April 4, 2026.

Backwoods Gallery does not maintain a permanent collection in the traditional institutional sense; rather, it operates as a commercial gallery representing and exhibiting contemporary artists whose practices span studio painting, muralism, and public art. The gallery's scope has evolved considerably since 2010. Initially focused on street art and graffiti, the program expanded to encompass a broader range of contemporary practices. The gallery has been particularly significant in documenting and archiving the development of Australian street art, with ongoing efforts to revisit and care for this history through digital archiving and stockroom exhibitions. The represented artists' work explores diverse themes including urban Aboriginal identity, queerness, femininity, perception, memory, and the intersection of people, nature, and place.

The gallery's archive and stockroom contain works by numerous artists exhibited over its fifteen-year history. In March 2026, Backwoods presented 'Archive Group Show,' an exhibition bringing together works from the gallery's archive alongside new additions. Featured artists in this and recent exhibitions include Aretha Brown, whose painting 'Girlfriends' (2026) explores love, queerness, and femininity through urban Aboriginal identity, and who was concurrently exhibiting in the National Gallery of Australia's 'After the Rain Triennial'; Kyle Hughes-Odgers, known for studio-based work and public art using bold geometric forms and stylised figurative imagery; Jasmine Crisp, an Adelaide-based painter and muralist creating narrative-driven works that reference historical portraiture traditions; and Taj Alexander, whose practice examines perception through colour and materiality, notably transforming industrial surfaces such as corrugated iron into painterly compositions. Other represented artists include Cam Summers, Maya Irving, Hidden Groove, Noni Cragg, David 'Meggs' Hooke, and Benjamin Knock.

From its opening in 2010 until 2026, Backwoods Gallery was located at 25 Easey Street in Collingwood, an inner-city suburb of Melbourne approximately three kilometres northeast of the central business district. The gallery occupied a position in the back streets of Collingwood, a location that influenced its name and identity. The physical space served as both exhibition venue and community hub, hosting openings, events, and live painting sessions. In early 2026, the gallery announced its departure from the Easey Street premises after fifteen years, marking the end of this chapter with a final event that allowed artists to paint directly on the walls.

Backwoods Gallery was located in Collingwood, Victoria, Australia. The gallery was directed and curated by Tom Groves. Throughout its operation, the gallery maintained regular exhibition hours and hosted opening events, including evening receptions. The gallery's website, backwoodsgallery.com, served as a primary point of contact and sales platform, with artworks available for purchase through the site or by direct inquiry. Following its departure from 25 Easey Street in 2026, the gallery indicated a continuation of operations, describing the move as the beginning of a 'next chapter' rather than a closure.