And while audiences might not be able to clap eyes on the accomplished artworks they have created just yet, they will be able to view them online for now and in the flesh before too long.

The Arts Academy's End of Year Exhibition (EYE) opens this week and will take place online and in galleries.

"Given the challenges of 2020, the range and depth of work that has been produced is outstanding," said Arts Academy director, Associate Professor Rich Chew.

The exhibition, which will be hosted online before it opens in galleries early next year, covers works across a range of artistic media including painting, drawing, ceramics, digital art, graphic design, printmaking and installation.

The graduating artists have been studying across five programs in Ballarat and Gippsland: Bachelor of Visual Arts (Ballarat), Bachelor of Fine Arts (Gippsland), Bachelor of Communication Design, Creative Arts (Honours) and Advanced Diploma of Graphic Design.

Federation University vice chancellor Professor Duncan Bentley will open the exhibition online on Wednesday and announce the winners of several awards.

"Our end-of-year exhibitions are an opportunity to showcase the work of our graduating Visual Arts students across five programs," Associate Professor Chew said.

The exhibition is normally held at the Ballarat Mining Exchange for a week during November but COVID-19 restrictions have forced the changes to this year's event.

IN OTHER NEWS

Associate Professor Chew said the EYE had been held for more than a decade, and showcasing the works of the graduating students in a gallery provided valuable impetus to their careers.

The end-of-year exhibition will be open online until mid-April 2021, offering the opportunity for a much broader audience than normal to see the works, and will overlap toward the end of its online run with a physical exhibition at the university's Post Office Gallery in Sturt Street.

The exhibition can be viewed online from Wednesday evening.