Exhibition of the PinchukArtCentre Prize 2025 shortlisted artists

The PinchukArtCentre (Kyiv, Ukraine) presents an exhibition of the artists shortlisted for the eighth edition of the PinchukArtCentre Prize, a nationwide prize in contemporary art for young Ukrainian artists aged 35 or younger. 

The exhibition brings together young Ukrainian artists who produced new works during the war. Many of the artists were born and lived in the regions of Ukraine currently occupied. The works engage with themes of identity in a time of war, facing trauma, and struggling to maintain personal freedoms. Weaved throughout the exhibition is the urge to connect different communities with each other and safeguard memories under threat of disappearance. The exhibition becomes a space where tragedy and loss intertwine with hope and imagination for the future.

The selection committee has formed the shortlist based on the selection results from more than 900 applications submitted to the prize. In addition, the selection committee nominated Veronika Kozhushko for special recognition outside the competition. Kozhushko was an artist from Kharkiv who applied for the PinchukArtCentre Prize but tragically died on August 30, 2024, as a result of a Russian missile strike on the city’s civilian infrastructure. A special presentation of her work is included in the exhibition. 

The shortlist of the PinchukArtCentre Prize 2025 includes: Mykhailo Alekseenko (34, Kyiv), Kateryna Aliinyk (25, Kyiv), Yuriy Bolsa (27, Chervonohrad), Vasyl Dmytryk (32, Ivano-Frankivsk/Odesa), Maksym Khodak (23, Vienna/Kyiv/Bila Tserkva), Yevhen Korshunov (35, Brovary/Kyiv), Kateryna Lysovenko (34, Kyiv/Vienna), Krystyna Melnyk (30, Kyiv/Melitopol), Daria Molokoiedova (22, Kramatorsk/Kyiv), Vlad Plisetskiy (25, Kyiv), Andrii Rachynskyi (34, Kharkiv), Anton Saenko (34, Sumy/Kyiv), Anton Shebetko (34, Kyiv/Amsterdam), Zhenia Stepanenko (28, Kyiv/Berlin), Vasyl Tkachenko (Lyakh) (29, Mariupol), Illia Todurkin (23, Mariupol/Kyiv), Tamara Turliun (29, Dnipro/Kyiv), Lesia Vasylchenko (34, Kyiv/Oslo), Yuri Yefanov (34, Gurzuf) and collective Variable Name / Назва змінна (Valerie Karpan (35, Kyiv) and Maryna Marynychenko (34, Kyiv/Zaporizhzhia).

This exhibition of the PinchukArtCentre Prize 2025 is curated by Oleksandra Pogrebnyak, curator of the PinchukArtCentre.         

The winners of the Prize will be announced at the award ceremony in the second quarter of 2025. The international jury will award the Main Prize of UAH 400 000 and two Special Prizes equal to UAH 100 000 each. The winners will also receive financial support for internships, further education, residences, or new productions. A Public Choice winner will be determined by the votes of the visitors attending the exhibition of the shortlisted artists and will be awarded UAH 40,000. 

The winner of the Main Prize will automatically be included in the shortlist for the Future Generation Art Prize 2026, an international art prize for young artists.

Established by the PinchukArtCentre in 2009, the PinchukArtCentre Prize is a biannual nationwide contemporary art prize for Ukrainian artists aged 35 or younger. It is the first private art prize in Ukraine to discover, recognize, and give long-term support to a new generation of emerging Ukrainian artists.

By setting up the Prize, the PinchukArtCentre strives to raise interest in contemporary art among Ukrainians and to form, by providing support for the creation of new artworks, a critical mass of new-generation artists who will be successful in both national and international art scenes. In addition, the PinchukArtCentre Prize is contributing to converting Kyiv into one of the world’s leading cultural hubs.

Winners of the previous editions of the PinchukArtCentre Prize
Main Prize winners
2022: Dana Kavelina; 2020: Yarema Malashchuk and Roman Himey; 2018: Anna Zvyagintseva; 2015: Open Group; 2013: Zhanna Kadyrova; 2011: Nikitata Kadan; 2009: Artem Volokitin.

Special Prize winners
2022: Nikolay Karabinovych, Anton Saenko, Kateryna Lysovenko; 2020: Nikolay Karabinovych and Uli Golub; 2018: Nikolay Karabinovych, Yarema Malashchuk and Roman Himey; 2015: Anna Zvyagintseva, Alina Kleitman; 2013: Open Group, Lada Nakonechna, Daniil Galkin; 2011: Zhanna Kadyrova, Serhiy Radkevych; 2009: Oleksii Salmanov, Masha Shubina.

Public Choice Prize winner 
2022: Mykhailo Alekseenko; 2020: Daniil Revkovskiy and Andriy Rachinskiy; 2018: Alina Kleitman; 2015: Anna Zvyagintseva; 2013: Anatoly Belov; 2011: Mykyta Shalennyi; 2009: BLUEMOLOKO.