La Trobe Art Institute curator Travis Curtin said the One Foot on the Ground, One Foot in the Water exhibition would feature 11 contemporary artists from Australia, the UK, and United States.

"As the title suggests, there is a strong theme of transience and looking at the ambiguity of life and death, rather than it being clean cut or binary," Mr Curtin said.

"The exhibition looks at the various states of in between."

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Mr Curtin said the project first started being developed about a year ago - months before the COVID-19 pandemic started.

"It has come together throughout the last part of this year," Mr Curtin said. "Obviously the context has completely changed.

"We are more aware of the fragility of life and the vulnerability of living in a community. Mortality and death is on the forefront of peoples' minds.

"In a way, the exhibition became more pertinent and has a greater impact now than in the pre-COVID time.

"Death is a universal experience. It's a key life experience and it's part of living. So this is really about drawing on those ideas and the co-existence of life and death."

The exhibition was due to open to the public on November 3, but due to lingering COVID-19 restrictions in regional Victoria, Mr Curtin said the institute would be waiting for more advice from the government on November 8.

Read more: Bendigo galleries, cinemas and tourism attractions still closed as regional Victoria prepares to welcome visitors

Mr Curtin said it had been a difficult year for the institute, just like it had been for many others in the arts sector.

"It's been incredibly challenging juggling family and work commitments and being based at home," he said. "It's been a struggle for everyone.

"As a team, we have worked closely together to constantly look forward with the program and planning."

As part of keeping the gallery engaging to the public, Mr Curtin said the institute implemented a public facade project. Artist Kay Abude's photograph, from her series Work Worth Doing, would be displayed outside the institute on View Street until mid-February.

"That was a really key moment in connecting with the local community," Mr Curtin said. "It faces outward so people can walk and drive past and engage with it.

"That was a project we were keen to push through despite the challenges."

Mr Curtin said there would be a number of different virtual programs and events in the coming months related to the One Foot on the Ground, One Foot in the Water exhibition.

He said more information could be found at latrobe.edu.au/art-institute

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