On April 15, 2026, the final stage of the “Eteria” All-Ukrainian Audiovisual Arts Competition took place. Organised by the Department of Audiovisual Arts of the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts, the competition ran from April 1 to May 10, 2026. It brought together emerging artists, photographers, directors, and creative authors from various regions of Ukraine.

The competition was open to school pupils, university students, and independent creators under the age of 35. Submissions were divided into two main categories: Photography and Video.

Photography nominations (Eteria.photo):

• portrait / personality;
• abstract photography;
• landscape.

Video nominations (Eteria.video):

• video clip;
• video art;
• shorts (vertical videos for social media).

The primary objective of the competition was to support the development of audiovisual culture among young people, to discover and encourage talented emerging authors, to foster youth creative initiatives, and to shape a new generation of artists in the field of audiovisual arts.

In total, the competition attracted over 90 participants from different regions of Ukraine, including Kharkiv, Dnipro, Lviv, and other cities, with more than 200 creative works submitted.

The winners were selected based on the jury evaluation results. Due to the high number of animation submissions, the jury introduced and approved an additional, separate category: “Animation”.

Organising Committee:

• Anna Batiuk — Head of the Organising Committee, Head of the Department of Audiovisual Arts, Associate Professor, PhD;
• Halyna Zherikhova — Author of the competition concept, designer, photographer, artist, lecturer at the Department of Audiovisual Arts;
• Anastasiia Pavlenko — Film director, lecturer at the Department of Audiovisual Arts;
• Yuliia Bondarenko — Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Audiovisual Arts and Media Technologies, artist, designer, lecturer at the Department of Audiovisual Arts.

Jury Members:

• Anna Pysanenko — Film director, screenwriter for feature films and TV series;
• Halyna Zherikhova — Designer, photographer, artist, lecturer at the Department of Audiovisual Arts;
• Oleksandr Prysiazhnenko — Film director, artist, lecturer, researcher; participant of regional, national, and international photography and video art exhibitions; Senior Lecturer at the Department of Photography and Visual Practices;
• Anton Chystiakov — Feature film director;
• Roman Krasnoshchok — Feature film director;
• Maksym Holovachov — Film director, editor, post-production producer, lecturer.

The participants’ works will be presented during an open screening event “Kharkiv lives and… keeps filming”. Winners and prize recipients will be awarded official diplomas for their achievements.

The “Eteria” competition has become an important platform for supporting emerging creators and promoting contemporary Ukrainian audiovisual arts.