The MUKHi Young Ukrainian Artists Competition, organized by Shcherbenko Art Centre since 2009, has announced an open call for applications. Ukrainian artists aged 21 and older are eligible to apply. Based on the open call results, the jury will select 10 finalists who will take part in a group exhibition at the Promprylad Art Center in Ivano-Frankivsk in September 2026
Application requirements:
— Ukrainian citizenship (place of residence is not important);
— 21 years of age or older;
— first-time participation in the MUHi Competition.
The organizers ask applicants to submit between three and five artistic projects for the competition.
Jury members:
Lorenzo Balbi (Italy) — Director of MAMbo – Museum of Modern Art of Bologna, Head of the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art of the Civic Museums of Bologna, and President of AMACI;
Maryna Huts (Ukraine) — Founder of the MUHi Competition and curator of contemporary art exhibitions;
Rae Jones (United Kingdom) — artist and researcher involved in projects at the Royal College of Art, London Design Festival, and Barbican Centre; co-founder of the Tool/Toy Project and member of the OUTPOST Norwich Steering Committee;
Paul Haywood (United Kingdom) — Professor at Central Saint Martins (University of the Arts London), Co-Chair of the National Association for Fine Art Education, and an academic and practitioner with extensive international experience in art education and interdisciplinary collaboration;
Isa Ho (Taiwan) — artist working with staged photography and digital synthesis;
Kseniia Malykh (Ukraine) — curator and art historian, Programme Director of Promprylad Art Center;
Mariia Proshkovska (Ukraine) — artist and winner of the 2017 MUHi Competition.
The deadline for submitting applications is June 21 (inclusive). The application form can be found via the link.
The results of the open call will be announced on July 5. The 10 selected artists will take part in a group exhibition at Promprylad Art Center in Ivano-Frankivsk in September 2026. The exhibition will be curated by the art center’s Programme Director, Kseniia Malykh. In addition to the grand prize winner,, the jury will also choose prize recipients from among the finalists.
The winner of the competition will receive a cash prize of UAH 70,000 and the opportunity to realize their project with curatorial support. The winner’s trophy will be created by artist Pavla Nikitina, who received the Grand Prize of the 2021 MUHi Competition.
Two additional prize recipients will each receive a cash award of UAH 30,000 and curatorial support in developing their own exhibition projects. The MUKHi 2026 award ceremony will take place in September 2026.
