Artist Rose Wilson, who assisted with founding the artist-run Little Gallery in Trentham nine years ago, said last year had been "stressful" for artists.

"Many galleries featuring fine art were closed for up to five months. Some commercial galleries have suffered greatly," Wilson said.

Similar to many businesses, Little Gallery - which showcases fine arts created across the region - was forced to adapt to the changes.

Its normally popular artist-run workshops stopped running at the beginning of the year, meaning it was not possible to make the often more regular source of income than art sales.

While the gallery tried to move online, this also presented challenges.

Another challenge for Little Gallery's artists was that they had been forced to move out of their established and quirky High Street premises, located in a former motor garage, due to renovations.

When the building's foundations were found to be unstable, the renovation - which originally planned to retain the original facade - took longer than expected and turned into a complete rebuild which involved building delays due to restrictions.

Wilson said that when COVID restrictions eased the artists were fortunate enough to be able to move Little Gallery into another vacant building just down the road.

While describing the year as a "struggle", Wilson said the local community and wider regional Victoria had been incredibly supportive when the gallery was able to reopen to regional Victorian visitors amid a change in restrictions.

The trend continued when restrictions were lifted in Melbourne and city-dwellers flocked to regional Victoria, supporting local businesses.

After 18 months, Little Gallery will return to its original home located on the town's High Street this week.

Incredibly, unlike many commercial galleries located in Melbourne, Little Gallery enjoyed sporadic financial success last year.

"Regional galleries like ours survived better. When we did open, people came from all over to regional galleries," she said.

"Covid's stressful year saw people embracing art in a different way - seeing art as a necessity and treating themselves after constant lockdowns and isolation."

Once the state emerged from lockdowns, the year proved to be its best year financially, with art sales three times what they are during a "normal" year.

Since the gallery first opened its doors nine years ago, it has continued to evolve.

During its time hundreds of artists have exhibited their work there, including at mid and end-of-year shows.

"From modest beginnings, it has evolved into a beautiful space that exhibits and supports local arts," Wilson said. "We are all artists ourselves so we understand and want to be supportive.

"Every town, no matter how small or remote, needs a gallery."

She said this was not just for the purpose of art being on show, but also to support the artists working in the area.

The gallery will official reopen to the public in its new space on Sunday, April 18.

"We were originally disappointed the old mechanics' Dashwood garage facade couldn't be saved, but are delighted the new structure blends into our quaint, historical little town's streetscape - which is what the owners wanted.

"We have the best of both worlds as inside it is beautifully designed with natural light streaming through its large windows from the north, just perfect for a gallery".

Permanent Little Gallery artists Rose Wilson, Helen Cottle, Ri Van Veen and Kim Haughie will be joined by two new artists in residence, Trentham painter Llael McDonald and Kyneton sculptor Larissa Gray.

Local consignment artists Ruby Wilson-Pierce, Sam Bloomfield, Dianne Longley, Liz Archer and Anneke Hoekstra will also have their work featured.

The Little Gallery is located at 32B High Street, Trentham.