KYIV.- The PinchukArtCentre presents an exhibition of the artists shortlisted for the 8th edition of the PinchukArtCentre Prize, the most important nationwide prize in contemporary art for young Ukrainian artists aged 35 or younger.

With all participants creating new works weaving together personal stories, reflections on collective memory and identity. The works capture the sharp contrasts in Ukrainian society, where tragedy and loss intertwine with resilience and hope for the future.

“The exhibition shows how generations of Ukrainian artists are changing. Some of the participants in this project grew up and developed their artistic practice after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Since 2014, the war has been shaping the experience of an entire generation, influencing its thinking and perception of the world.

One of the first works of the exhibition is an image of an exhausted breast. It is both physical and emotional exhaustion, an eternal act of giving. The other works continue the conversation about the body and its vulnerability, explore commemorative practices, address the connections between generations, trauma and the memory of a landscape that can no longer be returned to or will never be peaceful again”, – Oleksandra Pogrebnyak, curator of the PinchukArtCentre, comments on the this year exhibition.

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 with a 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 the Ukrainians and to form, by providing support for the creation of new artworks, a critical mass of new generation artists who would 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.