Yermilov Centre Director and Karazin University Lecturer Nataliia Ivanova Receives the 2026 Igor Zabel Award for Culture and Theory

The prestigious award has been presented in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the development of contemporary art, curatorial and educational activities, and her commitment to sustaining Kharkiv’s cultural life during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The decision was announced on the official website of the Igor Zabel Award. "I would like to sincerely thank the international jury for this high recognition of my work.

''I am deeply grateful to my Alma Mater, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, where we founded the Yermilov Centre for Contemporary Art in 2012. Throughout these years, the University has consistently supported cultural initiatives and enabled my colleagues and me to implement large-scale projects. This support became especially meaningful during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, inspiring us every day to continue our work. I am sincerely thankful to the entire Yermilov Centre team, our managers, for their unwavering dedication despite the challenges of wartime, as well as to our partners, artists, curators, and everyone who has supported us," said Nataliia Ivanova.

The jury highly praised Nataliia Ivanova for her long-standing leadership of one of the leading cultural institutions in Kharkiv and Ukraine, which she has directed since its establishment in 2012. Particular recognition was given to the Centre’s work in a frontline city, where, despite constant security threats, the team continues to organize exhibitions, educational programmes, and international cultural initiatives.

Nataliia Ivanova teaches Arts Management at V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University and is a co-founder of the NGO Yermilov Centre Art Laboratory. Throughout her professional career, she has co-curated and managed more than 60 exhibitions and artistic programmes in Ukraine and abroad.

Among the Yermilov Centre’s initiatives especially highlighted by the jury were the dialogue between Wolfgang Tillmans and Borys Mykhailov, presented in Kharkiv in 2025; the international project Sense of Safety. Bridges of Solidarity, which brought together more than 20 partner institutions from 12 countries; exhibitions of contemporary Ukrainian art in Poland; and the establishment of the ART KUZEMYN artist residency in Sumy Oblast. The Igor Zabel Award is one of the most prestigious international distinctions in contemporary art in Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe. Presented biennially, it honours curators, art historians, theorists, researchers, and critics working in the field of visual culture whose work fosters international cultural dialogue.

The award was established in memory of the Slovenian curator and art historian Igor Zabel. We warmly congratulate Nataliia Ivanova on this distinguished international recognition and wish her continued professional success and the fruitful implementation of new initiatives.