Women in Arts Award

Women in Arts is an independent award, established in 2019 by UN Women and the Ukrainian Institute as a part of the HeForShe solidarity movement for gender equality.

About the award

In 2019, the Ukrainian Institute and UN Women Ukraine established the Women In Arts Award to support and promote the professional advancement of Ukrainian women in the field of art at national and international levels, as well as to address gender stereotypes and eliminate inequalities. An awarding ceremony is held annually in March within the global HeForShe Arts Week.

Key factors for selecting winners include professional achievements, reputation, innovative artistic methods, as well as national or international recognition. The Expert Council and the Expert Jury include a gender-balanced set of experts in respective fields of art, representing governmental bodies as well as independent institutions.

Each category’s winner is awarded a statuette called “Hands”, created specially for the Women in Arts Award by artist Maria Kulikovska. The statuette features intertwined female hands which, according to the artist, symbolize support and protection, as well as cooperation between women which often remains unnoticed.

Categories

Female artists are awarded in the following categories:

Women in Visual Arts: authors working in sculpture, painting, new media, illustration;
Women in Music: composers, singers, performers, conductors;
Women in Theatre: directors, actresses, screenwriters, set designers;
Women in Film: directors, actresses, screenwriters, camerawomen;
Women in Literature: writers, poets, and translators;
Women in Cultural Management: curators, film producers, organizers of music and film festivals, cultural forums;
Women in Cultural Journalism, Criticism, and Research: women researchers, art critics, publicists, literary critics, film and theatre experts, art historians, editors (added in 2020);
Special Mention: women whose activities cannot be assigned to any of the categories of the award, but whose contribution to Ukrainian culture is important (added in 2021).

Премія Women in Arts

Award 2024

On March 6, the fifth anniversary awarding ceremony of the annual Women in Arts. The Resistance Award was held in Kyiv. With this award, UN Women Ukraine and the Ukrainian Institute praise the achievements of women in the field of culture and art, and from 2023, also their contribution to the approach of victory. The governments of Sweden and Japan, as well as the Women’s Fund for Peace and Humanitarian Aid of the United Nations, supported the event.

More about the ceremony.

The Women in Arts. The Resistance 2024 Award laureates:   

  • Women in Visual Arts —  Kateryna Buchatska
  • Women in Music — Jamala
  • Women in the Performing Arts —  Oksana Dmitriieva
  • Women in Film —  Alisa Kovalenko
  • Women in Literature —  Yaryna Chornohuz
  • Women in Cultural Management —  Olha Honchar
  • Women in Cultural Journalism, Criticism, and Research — Kateryna Yakovlenko
  • Special Mention — Kateryna Pryimak
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●  Women in Visual Arts:
Kateryna Buchatska, Kateryna Aliinyk, Lesia Khomenko
●  Women in Music:
Mariia Yaremak, Jamala, Khrystyna Daletska
●  Women in Theatre:
Oksana Dmitriieva, Inna Falkova, Yuliia Zaulychna
●  Women in Film:
Alisa Kovalenko, Maryna Vroda, Maryna Maikovska
 Women in Literature:
Yaryna Chornohuz, Liubov Yakymchuk, Iya Kiva, Olena Herasymiuk, Olesia Yaremchuk
●  Women in Cultural Management:
Olha Honchar, Olha Balashova, Oleksandra Koval
●  Women in Cultural Journalism, Criticism, and Research:
Kateryna Yakovlenko, Kseniia Bilash, Darka Hirna 

During the ceremony, a Special Mention will also be awarded. Introduced in 2021, this separate award aims to honor the accomplishments of women who, while not professional artists, significantly contribute to Ukrainian culture through their endeavors.

Премія Women in Arts

Award 2023

Women in Arts award. The Resistance took place on March 7 under the slogan “The fire doesn’t burn the stubborn” and was special because it spans the previous two years. In 2022, the ceremony did not take place due to the start of a full-scale invasion, so Women in Arts 2023 took on a new meaning, embedded in the name The Resistance and in the identity of the award, the elements of which symbolize resistance.

The ceremony also featured the premiere of a women’s manifesto created in collaboration with the MEGOGO LIVE music channel.

  • Women in Visual Arts:
    Alevtyna Kakhidze, Kateryna Lysovenko, Lesya Khomenko, Albina Yaloza
  • Women in Music:
    Jamala, Alla Zagaykevych, Maryna Krut (KRUTЬ), Liudmila Monastyrska
  • Women in Theatre:
    Maryna Koshkina, Oksana Cherkashyna, Roza Sarkisyan, Nina Zakhozhenko, Oksana Dmitrieva 
  • Women in Film:
    Nadia Parfan, Kateryna Gornostai, Maryna Er Gorbach, Alina Horlova, Oksana Cherkashyna
  • Women in Literature:
    Halyna Kruk, Yaryna Chornohuz, Victoria Amelina, Tetyana Malyarchuk, Lyubov Yakymchuk
  • Women in Cultural Management:
    Darya Bassel, Yuliya Vaganova, Olga Viieru, Olena Goncharouk, Elizaveta German, Maria Lanko 
  • Women in Cultural Journalism, Criticism, and Research:
    Kateryna Botanova, Yulia Manukyan, Tetyana Ogarkova, Anastasia Platonova, Yaryna Tsymbal
  • Special mention Yulia Sidorova (Cuba)

Лауреатки премії Women in Arts 2023

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Winners of 2021

Women in Visual Arts: Alina Kleytman
Women in Music: Oksana Lyniv
Women in Theatre: Tamara Trunova
Women in Film: Iryna Tsilyk
Women in Literature: Sofia Andrukhovych
Women in Cultural Management: Yuliia Fediv
Women in Cultural Journalism, Criticism and Research: Vira Baldyniuk
Special Mention: Valeria Burlakova

Read more.

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Winners of 2020

Women in Visual Arts: Lada Nakonechna
Women in Music: Alyona Savranenko (alyona alyona)
Women in Film and Theatre: Nataliia Vorozhbyt
Women in Literature: Oksana Zabuzhko
Women in Cultural Management: Yulia Sinkevych
Women in Cultural Journalism, Criticism and Research: Daria Badyor

Read more.

Women in Arts Award

Winners of 2019

Women in Visual Arts: Vlada Ralko
Women in Music: Nina Garenetska
Women in Film and Theatre: Irma Vitovska-Vanza
Women in Literature: Kateryna Kalytko
Women in Cultural Management: Olesya Ostrovska-Lyuta

Read more.

Women in Arts Award

About HeForShe 

HeForShe is a global solidarity movement in support of gender equality, initiated by UN Women, where men and boys from around the world can engage and become change agents for the achievement of gender equality. In Ukraine, the HeForShe movement was established with the financial support of Sweden.