Projects

MUHі is a multifaceted project, developed to actively seek out new names within the community of young Ukrainian artists. The project’s name came about as a Ukrainian acronym for “Young Ukrainian Artists and… “.

The project is organised as a competition, and held according to the following rules:
- young Ukrainian artists under 35 are eligible to apply;
- the contest is open exclusively to Ukraine’s nationals;
- finalists and winners are being selected by the Ukrainian, and since 2015 international panel of experts, which comprises of curators, directors of museums, art centres, galleries, art critics and artists; all of whom are experts of highest repute and well known within the community of professional artists;
- one artist can be short listed for the MUHi Contest only once.

The overall prize pool for the 2017 MUHi Contest is 70,000 UAH. The winner will receive a cash prize of 40,000 UAH; the winner will also join an art residence programme in the Czech Republic and in 2018 will be presented with an opportunity to implement their own project at the Shcherbenko Art Centre, an art gallery.

Also the international expert panel will select two runners up who will be awarded cash prizes amounting to 15,000 UAH and receive technical support in implementing their own exhibition project.

The ten contest finalists are invited to take part in a group exhibition which is scheduled for November 2017.

Members of the international panel of experts for the 2017 МUHі Contest:
Oksana Barshynova - art historian, curator, Senior Research Fellow of the Science and Research Department of Art (20th c.-beginning of 21st c.) at the National Art Museum of Ukraine; lecturer on the history of contemporary art at the Ukrainian National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture;
Gunnar B.Kvaran - Director of the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo, Norway; Director of the Reykjavik Art Museum, Iceland (1989-1997); Director of the Bergen Art Museum, Norway (1997-2001); Commissioner/Curator for the Icelandic pavilion at the Biennale di Venezia in 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990;
Jerzy Onuch - Polish artist, curator, political expert, as an artist he specialises in performance and installation art. In 1997–2010 headed the Soros Center for Contemporary Art in Kyiv. In 2005-2010 he was Director of the Polish Institute in Kyiv. In 2010-2014: Director of the Polish Cultural Institute in New York, and Senior Adviser at the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York under the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2015 he is a partner at the ONUCH&ONUCH Consulting, Toronto-Manchester-Warsaw-Kyiv;
Marek Pokorny - art critic and curator, Director of PLATO gallery in Ostrava, former Director of the Moravian Gallery in Brno, the Czech Republic; Commissioner/Curator for the Czech (2013) and Slovakian (2006) pavilions at the Biennale di Venezia;
Tatiana Tumasyan - curator, gallery owner, Director of the Kharkiv Municipal Gallery; Founder and Coordinator of the NonStopMedia, the International Festival of Youth Projects; Founder and Director of the VOVATANYA Gallery, Director and Curator of the Yermilov Centre in Kharkiv (2012 - 2015).

The MUHi Project was founded by Maryna Shcherbenko, a curator and gallery owner. The first MUHi exhibition was held in 2009 at the Bottega Gallery. Since then the project has been held five times.

The organisers view professional development of the artist’s works and projects within the MUHi community as the key sign and measure of success. The artists’ development and their integration into the national and global artistic community are also of paramount importance.

The MUHi artists actively participate in the curatorial group projects; hold solo exhibitions at the Shcherbenko Art Centre’s sister branches, as well as all over Ukraine and overseas; are awarded international programme scholarships and find inspiration at art residencies.

The Shcherbenko Art Centre supports MUHi contestants, and continues collaboration with the artists way beyond the Centre’s own exhibition venues and online platforms; and aims to engaging the artists in solo and group projects, while also encouraging them to work independently which is vital to developing the young artist’s portfolio.

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For more information on the 2017 MUHi Contest please visit: http://muhi.com.ua/