Memory that shapes the future: ZMINA joined the “Generation Nika” Award Ceremony in honour of Veronika Kozhushko

On 19 May 2026, the team of the Human Rights Centre ZMINA attended the “Generation Nika” award ceremony held at the Kharkiv State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre named after Mykola Lysenko. At the invitation of the award organisers, the event was attended by ZMINA Project Manager Inna Ilchenko, Communications Manager Iryna Zahorodnia, and journalist Liudmyla Tiahnyriadno.

Photo: Miliena Liashenko, Tetiana Pylypchuk

The “Generation Nika” award was established in honour of Kharkiv artist and poet Veronika Kozhushko, who was killed on 30 August 2024 as a result of a Russian missile strike on Kharkiv. The ceremony was held on 19 May – Nika’s birthday – when she would have turned 20 this year.

During the opening ceremony, Veronika’s father and co-founder of the award, Ihor Kozhushko, stressed that for him, the award is first and foremost about remembrance and about the young people killed by Russia, but also about supporting those who continue to create during the war.

“The award gives us an opportunity to hear young, talented people whose creative journey began during the full-scale war. It is important both to remember those who were killed and to support those who will shape the future of the country“, Ihor Kozhushko said.

Photo: Ihor Kozhushko

This year, the winner in the “Painting” category was 17-year-old Kateryna Nosal from Zaporizhzhia, who in her speech thanked Nika Kozhushko for the inspiration and called on young people to “shape the future and the country’s cultural space”.

The winner in the “Literature” category was 21-year-old Yelyzaveta Tepliakova from Odesa for her novel “Dead Childhood” – a text about a generation whose lives were forever changed by the war.

Special awards for works on military themes were also presented by Artem Revchuk, an officer of the Omega Special Purpose Centre, and Yuliia Paievska (Taira), a servicewoman and poet. The awards were presented to 17-year-old Veronika Khmelivska from Ivano-Frankivsk for her essay “Feelings During the War” and 21-year-old Vladyslav Malyshev from Kryvyi Rih for his artwork “The Boat”. Veronika travelled for 26 hours by bus to attend the ceremony, while Vladyslav said he had learned about Nika Kozhushko during a memorial bonfire at one of the festivals. Artist Kupava Nadtochii also received a special award from the Aza Nizi Maza studio.

The ceremony combined the award presentation with a theatrical performance created by the Kharkiv-based Nafta Theatre (directed by Artem Vusyk) in collaboration with students of the Kharkiv National University of Arts and the “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Choir”. The performance featured the poetry of Veronika Kozhushko, and the evening itself became not only a tribute to her memory but also a show of support for a new generation of Ukrainian artists.

During the ceremony, the award’s co-founder, writer and musician Serhii Zhadan, stressed that the award is not only about remembrance, but also about the future and belief in the young voices shaping a new Ukrainian culture during the war.

Photo: Serhii Zhadan

Ukrainian artist Pavlo Makov, a member of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers of Great Britain, a full member of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, and laureate of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine (2018), thanked the organisers of the award and stressed its importance for Kharkiv: “I would like to thank you for the award. I want to say that Kharkiv has lacked this kind of unity. And the fact that this award brought us together – unfortunately at a terrible price – still brought us together. I think Nika would have been very happy“.

Photo: Pavlo Makov

Iryna Zahorodnia, Communications Manager at the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, shared that she first discovered Nika’s work through one of her artworks – a depiction of a high-rise building with blood pouring from it.

“I thought: how can a person who is far away from me reflect so precisely everything I am feeling at this moment? It is a great talent and a great gift – to be able to convey what millions of Ukrainians are feeling in such a way“, Iryna Zahorodnia said, adding that it was a great honour for the ZMINA team to stand today alongside the people who knew and loved Nika.

Artwork by Veronika Kozhushko. Photo credit: Iryna Zahorodnia

Over the past two years, the “Generation Nika” award has brought together hundreds of young writers and artists from across Ukraine and has become an important platform for supporting young Ukrainian culture during the full-scale war.

The “Generation Nika” award was established in 2024. It is presented to writers and visual artists aged 16 to 21. The founders are Serhii Zhadan, the Serhii Zhadan Charitable Foundation, the “Nika Generation” Charitable Foundation (founded by Ihor and Tetiana Kozhushko), and the Kharkiv Literary Museum (Director – Tetiana Pylypchuk).

The initiative’s partners include the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Center, the Past / Future / Art memory culture platform, PEN Ukraine, and the Human Rights Centre ZMINA.

The photos were provided by the award organisers.

Read more about this year’s award ceremony on the ZMINA website in Liudmyla Tiahnyriadno’s article: “Writing became a way for me to survive and leave something behind”: Kharkiv hosts award ceremony honouring the late artist Nika Kozhushko for young creators“.