The best artist-run initiatives (ARIs) in Melbourne

Who said painting was dead? Certainly not C A V E S (yes, that’s how it’s styled), that’s for sure. Aside from showing paintings, the gallery also shows small object sculpture and photography by primarily local artists, but also artists from across the country and the world.

Blak Dot showcases contemporary and traditional First Nations art, and is currently Melbourne’s only Indigenous-run art gallery with a physical space. It was established in 2011, and in 2016 moved to its current premises behind the Brunswick baths.

Founded in 2001, Bus Projects is one of Melbourne’s busiest artist-run initiatives, with upwards of 50 exhibitions per year across multiple gallery spaces, as well as music events, experimental art programs and educational workshops. It’s firmed itself up as one of Melbourne’s foremost contemporary galleries showcasing local, national and international art. 

Another of Melbourne’s stalwart artist-run spaces, Kings has been around since 2003. Over the past 15 years, the gallery has continued to support local and national artists working with contemporary art and experimental practice. It’s run by a collective of artists, writers and curators.

Seventh Gallery is the only gallery left standing on Fitzroy’s Gertrude Street (Gertrude Contemporary moved to Preston a few years back). They host exhibitions, public programs, and run an emerging writers program. Their motto is to support experimental practice in art, writing and curatorial practice across a diverse range of both artists and mediums.

Housed in the ever-glorious Abbotsford Convent grounds, c3 has multiple galleries and encourages artists to take risks. They base their model on both that of a traditional publicly-funded gallery and that of an artist-run-initiative – it’s a massive space and there’s always plenty of buzz, but their ethos is a community-led and artist-run philosophy.

While not so much a gallery and more of an archive, the Women’s Art Register works with women (including non-binary and trans women) as a community resource for women’s art in Australia, largely maintained with the assistance of artists, writers and curators.