Ukrainian Award Reflects a Generation Who Have Grown up with War
A generation of artists who lived through Russia’s first war in Ukraine in 2014 are showcasing work in Kyiv this spring, reflecting the war as ‘backdrop against which they have come of age’. Save to My Ocula
Twenty artists have been shortlisted for a biennial Ukrainian award aimed not just at recognising art, but sustaining the ability to create in the war-torn country.
Financed by billionaire Victor Pinchuk, the 8th PinchukArtCentre Prize aims to support Ukrainian artists under 35.
Curator Oleksandra Pogrebnyak said the award carries new significance this year as artists continue to work in Ukraine amid war.
It is no longer ‘just about artistic recognition’, Pogrebnyak told Ocula, but ‘sustaining the ability to create, to reflect, and to remain visible’.
An exhibition of the finalists’ work opened at PinchukArtCentre in Kyiv on 28 February. Works on view are said to capture contrasting experiences in present-day Ukraine, where ‘tragedy and loss’ meet attitudes of ‘resilience and hope’.
Notable works include Yuriy Bolsa’s computer simulation of a now-defunct artist residency near the Russian border, Mykhailo Alekseenko’s inquiry into war’s impact on Ukrainian museums, and Yevhen Korshunov’s installation recreating his military training quarters.
‘Each work is not just a statement, but a trace of lived experience’, Pogrebnyak said. Unlike previous years, she observed artists returning to more traditional mediums like painting, ceramics, and print, which are more ‘tangible’, retaining ‘the weight of reality’.
The winner announced this spring will receive 9600 USD, funding for new work, and consideration for the 2026 Future Generation Art Prize–an international award for young artists of 100,000 USD, also backed by Pinchuk.
Two additional prizes of 2400 USD each will be presented alongside a public award of 960 USD.
‘Each exhibition of shortlisted artists reflects the evolving landscape of Ukrainian art—who we are, where we are, and how we navigate an uncertain world,’ Pogrebnyak said.
This year, the award will include a special recognition to honour applicant Veronika Kozhushko, who died last August after a Russian missile strike in Kharkiv.
Pinchuk also bankrolled the collateral event From Ukraine: Dare to Dream at Venice last year, which the exhibition’s curators contextualised within ‘an ongoing global power struggle’. —[O]
Main image: Yuri Yefanov, I Watched the Sinusoidal Motion of Blue Electronic Waves until I Sensed Their Smell (2025). Computer simulation in real-time, synthetic plants, wood, textile. Created with Vitalii Kokhan; produced with support of PinchukArtCentre. Courtesy the artist. Photo: Ela Bialkowska.
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