On 20 October, the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater in Kyiv hosted the ArtSpace Interior Award 2025 ceremony, a landmark event marking the competition's return after a four-year hiatus. The renewed format brought together an international jury, a socially conscious mission, and a showcase of Ukraine's evolving design landscape.
© Artspace Interior Award
The Serpent House by IQOSA won for Best Concept.
Representatives from Ukraine's design, cultural, and creative industries attended, including Iryna Danylevska, founder of Ukrainian Fashion Week; Lyudmila Sova, CEO of SOVA jewellery house; Yevhen Nyshchuk, artistic director of the National Academic Drama Theater; and leading sommelier Oleg Kravchenko.
This year's edition reflected the new maturity of Ukrainian design, shaped by life during wartime. From 281 submitted projects, the finalists and winners shared a unifying ethos — sincerity, sustainability, and individuality. "Ukrainian designers don't just work — they shape contemporary history. Their work is a manifestation of creativity, love for life, and faith in the future," said Angelika Garusova, founder of the competition.
© Artspace Interior Award
Lviv Mobility Centre was honoured with Best Social Project.
For the first time, an entry fee was introduced, raising 160,000 UAH (around €3,500) to support the rehabilitation of Ivan Budurov, the son of designer and teacher Kseniya Latii, a defender of Mariupol who returned from captivity.
A new category, 'Collaboration of Designers in Social Projects', recognised initiatives using design to improve lives and support the Ukrainian military.
All three entries were honoured:
- Good Bread from Good People by Between the Walls studio — providing employment for people with mental disabilities.
- The Right to Comfort by Victoria Fainblatt Bureau — offering dignity and belonging to children affected by war and poverty.
- Road to Victory! by Tatiana Sorokina, Volodymyr Svirsky, and the Future of Ukraine 2050 Foundation — uniting creativity and compassion through charity concerts that funded 50 vehicles for the Armed Forces.
© Artspace Interior Award
Good Bread from Good People, supporting employment opportunities for people with mental disabilities.
The international jury included Belgian curator Giovanna Massoni, Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat of WantedDesign New York, and Jennifer Hahn, Interiors Editor at Dezeen. Hahn praised Ukrainian designers "for their creativity and resilience in producing extraordinary work despite the challenges of war."
The new ArtSpace statuette, designed by Between the Walls studio, symbolised "the aesthetics of minimalism and natural materials... natural textures are self-sufficient and need nothing extra."
The ArtSpace Interior Award 2025 reaffirmed that Ukrainian design is a force of culture and community, one that "continues to live, create, and inspire, despite everything."
More information:
The ArtSpace Interior Award
www.artspace.ua
