Mykolaiv School of Conceptual and Artistic Photography MYPH, which has existed since 2018, this year launched the MYPH Photography Prize 2024 for young photographers. In a conversation with UAPF, the founder of the school, Serhiy Melnychenko, spoke about the organization of the prize, shared why he decided to support young photographers, how the jury was selected, and how they managed to create a free competition. He also spoke about the winners' impressions of participating in the first MYPH Photography Prize and plans for the development of the prize.
— Sergey, tell us about the MYPH Prize. How did the idea of creating a contest come about? Why did they decide to focus on supporting young photographers?
— The idea arose primarily from what we have been doing at the Mykolaiv School of Photography MYPH for six years. At first it was an educational activity, but little by little we began to initiate various exhibitions, promotions, sale of works by young authors in the collection, promotion in publications, etc. This was my initiative back in 2018, when we just founded the school.
We can say that the creation of the contest was a matter of time. It was wanted for a long time, but at first there was not enough resource or communication like school. We needed to establish ourselves as a platform that could attract partners and sponsors. This year I decided that it was enough to postpone, because it is not known what will happen tomorrow. Therefore, we created this contest, and made it free to really support young authors.
Support starts with small but important steps. For example, we decided that participants would not pay dues to participate. Thus, the competition became a continuation of MYPH's activities, which already includes work with students, alumni, author projects, exhibitions, microgrants, scholarships, etc.
The prize allowed us to expand the range: to support not only our students, but also other young authors. We wanted to give them the opportunity to show themselves, to allow them to show themselves and their projects, to help in their promotion through our platform.
— You have received more than 500 applications for the competition. Did you expect such a result? How was the selection process of applicants?
— To be honest, we expected fewer applications. I thought that the bulk of the participants would be our students or graduates of MYPH, because we have a certain percentage of active authors. I assumed that there would be a total of about 100 participants not associated with the school. But the competition was open to everyone, and the only condition was the presence of no more than five years of active practice in photography.
We were pleasantly surprised by such a large number of applications, and this was made possible thanks to the significant support of our partners, sponsors and the photography community. A special role was played by reposts made by friends, colleagues and institutions, even those who were not associated with the contest directly. Many galleries, organizations and photographers supported us simply as friends of the school. This helped create a wide visibility of the competition.
The first stage of competitive selection was the formation of a longlist. The jury reviewed all submissions and selected 63 authors. In the second stage, according to the points system, they determined the eight best participants who reached the final. It was a painstaking process, because the level of work was very high. The eight winners and winners of the competition included: Alexey Chistotin, Irina Kabysh, Ainur Sakisheva, Olya Koval, Georgy Ivanchenko, Regina Bukvych, Nurlana Udovenko and Veronika Mol.
— Who was on the MYPH Prize jury? How did you select jury members to avoid a conflict of interest?
— We had nine jury members, including representatives from Ukraine and other countries. We carefully approached the formation of the composition to avoid conflicts of interest. For example, I myself did not participate in the evaluation, because it was expected that a significant part of the applications would be from our students. Also on the jury was my former student Artem Gumilevsky, but he deliberately did not submit his work in order to maintain objectivity.
The jury of the competition included:
I organized the competition together with Ivanna Bertrand and the MYPH team. We have engaged a diverse jury to avoid bias or any pannibrotherhood. Among them were representatives of various directions: conceptual photography, artistic photography, publishing, gallerists and others. This made it possible to create an objective evaluation system.
After the jury formed a longlist of 63 authors, each jury member evaluated the works according to their own criteria, taking into account different approaches — from conceptualization to visual embodiment. Thanks to this, it was possible to obtain a multifaceted view of the projects, which made it possible to select a balanced and strong eight finalists.
— Sergey, please tell us about the finalists of the competition. What works made the list and how did they impress you?
— I am very pleased with the results of the competition. When the results of the jury voting were sent to me, and then the stage of preparation of the exhibition and printing of works began, I realized that everything turned out perfectly. It was especially nice to see MYPH students among the finalists, because it proves that they work fruitfully, experiment and create something new.
All finalists deserve their place on the list, because they are people who are truly “in their place” and constantly evolving. Separately, I want to mention the winner of the competition Georgy Ivanchenko. His project on the war in Ukraine impressed me not only with its theme, but also with its approach. This is not just documentary photography — it is artistic expression created through conceptual techniques. For an art and conceptual photography contest, this approach has become ideal.
I also want to note the works of Alexei Chistotin, which continue the traditions of the Kharkiv School of Photography. It is also a documentary photograph about the war, but made using wide angle, hand printing and rich monochrome colors. This is an example where the documentary genre balances on the border with art photography, which is one of our main niches.
Among the finalists is Olya Koval with her project, which I saw earlier. She got to the top eight fully deservedly, like the rest of the participants.
In general, all the finalists and winners are an example of how hard work bears fruit. Their success, in my opinion, will be the motivation for other participants to work further and submit their papers next year.
The evaluation was as transparent as possible, because the jury evaluated the works by concept and visual embodiment, and I know for sure that there was no bias or bias. Everything was fair and I am very proud of the result.
— Were there any categories in the competition? How were the awards distributed among the eight winners?
— The competition had one general category — artistic and conceptual photography. We did not divide the participants into individual themes or genres, but selected eight winners whose works made it to the final exhibition.
We deliberately did not use the word “finalists”, because we believe that being selected from more than 500 applications is already a victory. Therefore, all eight authors are winners of the competition.
Regarding the awards, we did not focus on specific “prize places” in the usual sense. For example, it is important for us that the winners receive not only certificates or prizes, but also the opportunity to participate in the exhibition, which will travel throughout Ukraine and abroad. Participation in the exhibition is already a huge success and a chance for young authors to express themselves.
We also offered special prizes thanks to our partners and patrons. Here are some examples: Heorhii Ivanchenkoreceived a Canon camera, a certificate for training at MYPH, as well as the publication of his project in an artbook from Creative Publishing. Olya Koval received residency in Lithuania. One of the projects chosen by the philanthropist Ivanna Bertrand received a special prize for the best female project. And certificates for different amounts for studying at MYPH were received by all the winners of the competition.
In addition, we have agreed with our partners to organize exhibitions in Europe. Under the terms of the competition, individual projects will be presented in Norway, in Oslo. We are now negotiating with other institutions to continue promoting the exhibition abroad. This will allow to show the works to a wide audience and support Ukrainian art at the international level.
— How did the winners react to their achievements? Maybe there were interesting reviews or feedback?
— For Georgy Ivanchenko it was the first competition, and he himself admitted that he was pleasantly surprised by his victory. He took the risk and immediately won. It is extremely motivating, and I hope that at least part of his success after the contest is due precisely to the resonance of this victory. His works are actively published by both Ukrainian and international media.
We created this contest precisely to help authors find their audience, collector or gallerist. Feedback from participants and winners only confirmed that we are moving in the right direction by supporting young photographers.
— Is the exhibition now available for viewing in Kyiv? What are your plans for her future?
— Until November 24, the exhibition could be seen in Kiev, but now it has been dismantled. We are negotiating for her to go to Lviv. The plans are to show works in other cities of Ukraine, in particular in Nikolaev and Odessa. We communicate with various galleries and institutions to organize further exhibitions. There is an idea to supplement the exhibition with installations or other projects, but the main goal is to show all the works, because they deserve it.
This is the first award organized by the MYPH School. We perceive it as a kind of birthday of a new project. We plan to make this competition annual, develop it, find new partners and sponsors. Next year we will also hold the MYPH Prize, because such initiatives are very important for supporting young authors, especially given the lack of such competitions in Ukraine.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to thank everyone who supported us in carrying out this event and believed in this idea. Especially the philanthropist Ivany Bertrand, who made a significant contribution to the contest. We did not receive any financing from outside, so we organized everything on our own and with the help of Ivanna.
Special thanks to partners, sponsors and jury. Thank you to everyone who helped with the dissemination of information by reposts, organizing prizes. Thanks to your support, we managed to attract serious partners to the competition, and as a result, we collected more than 12 logos on our banners and posters.
This support is inspiring. We also plan to create a printed catalog with the works of the winners to keep this event not only online, but also in physical form. This will help to leave a memory of the competition and motivate even more young authors for the future.
Serhiy Melnichenko— photographer, teacher, founder of the school of conceptual and art photography MYPH. He began photography in 2009. During this time, he participated in about 200 solo and group exhibitions, fairs and festivals around the world. Organizer and curator of more than 40 projects and exhibitions featuring works by MYPH students around the world over the past 5 years. Winner of Ukrainian and international competitions and awards, including “Leica Oskar Barnack Award Newcomer” in 2017 (Berlin), “Photographer of the Year” 2012, 2013 and 2016 (Kyiv, Ukraine), “Golden Camera” in 2012 (Kyiv, Ukraine). Finalist of “Krakow Photomonth”, “Pinchuk Art Center Prize”, “Off_Festival Bratislava 2014", “DEBUTS 2018”, “Kolga Tbilisi Photo Award”, “Batumi Photodays”, etc. Participant of “Paris Photo”, “Volta Art Fair”, “Photo L.A.”, “Photo Basel”, “Unseen fair”. Nominated for the Foam Paul Huf Award in 2020 and 2023. Selected to participate in the European platform for photographers “FUTURES” in 2022. Sergey's photographs are in private and public collections in the USA, Hong Kong, Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany, Belgium, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Japan, Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, etc. In 2022 and 2023, two series and a total of 25 works by Sergei were included in the permanent collection of the Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung Foundation. In 2023, he received an annual scholarship (grant) from the Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung Foundation to create his own photo project.
We worked on the material:}
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Bildeditor: Olga Kovalyova
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kukhar
Mykolaiv School of Conceptual and Artistic Photography MYPH, which has existed since 2018, this year launched the MYPH Photography Prize 2024 for young photographers. In a conversation with UAPF, the founder of the school, Serhiy Melnychenko, spoke about the organization of the prize, shared why he decided to support young photographers, how the jury was selected, and how they managed to create a free competition. He also spoke about the winners' impressions of participating in the first MYPH Photography Prize and plans for the development of the prize.
— Sergey, tell us about the MYPH Prize. How did the idea of creating a contest come about? Why did they decide to focus on supporting young photographers?
— The idea arose primarily from what we have been doing at the Mykolaiv School of Photography MYPH for six years. At first it was an educational activity, but little by little we began to initiate various exhibitions, promotions, sale of works by young authors in the collection, promotion in publications, etc. This was my initiative back in 2018, when we just founded the school.
We can say that the creation of the contest was a matter of time. It was wanted for a long time, but at first there was not enough resource or communication like school. We needed to establish ourselves as a platform that could attract partners and sponsors. This year I decided that it was enough to postpone, because it is not known what will happen tomorrow. Therefore, we created this contest, and made it free to really support young authors.
Support starts with small but important steps. For example, we decided that participants would not pay dues to participate. Thus, the competition became a continuation of MYPH's activities, which already includes work with students, alumni, author projects, exhibitions, microgrants, scholarships, etc.
The prize allowed us to expand the range: to support not only our students, but also other young authors. We wanted to give them the opportunity to show themselves, to allow them to show themselves and their projects, to help in their promotion through our platform.
— You have received more than 500 applications for the competition. Did you expect such a result? How was the selection process of applicants?
— To be honest, we expected fewer applications. I thought that the bulk of the participants would be our students or graduates of MYPH, because we have a certain percentage of active authors. I assumed that there would be a total of about 100 participants not associated with the school. But the competition was open to everyone, and the only condition was the presence of no more than five years of active practice in photography.
We were pleasantly surprised by such a large number of applications, and this was made possible thanks to the significant support of our partners, sponsors and the photography community. A special role was played by reposts made by friends, colleagues and institutions, even those who were not associated with the contest directly. Many galleries, organizations and photographers supported us simply as friends of the school. This helped create a wide visibility of the competition.
The first stage of competitive selection was the formation of a longlist. The jury reviewed all submissions and selected 63 authors. In the second stage, according to the points system, they determined the eight best participants who reached the final. It was a painstaking process, because the level of work was very high. The eight winners and winners of the competition included: Alexey Chistotin, Irina Kabysh, Ainur Sakisheva, Olya Koval, Georgy Ivanchenko, Regina Bukvych, Nurlana Udovenko and Veronika Mol.
— Who was on the MYPH Prize jury? How did you select jury members to avoid a conflict of interest?
— We had nine jury members, including representatives from Ukraine and other countries. We carefully approached the formation of the composition to avoid conflicts of interest. For example, I myself did not participate in the evaluation, because it was expected that a significant part of the applications would be from our students. Also on the jury was my former student Artem Gumilevsky, but he deliberately did not submit his work in order to maintain objectivity.
The jury of the competition included:
I organized the competition together with Ivanna Bertrand and the MYPH team. We have engaged a diverse jury to avoid bias or any pannibrotherhood. Among them were representatives of various directions: conceptual photography, artistic photography, publishing, gallerists and others. This made it possible to create an objective evaluation system.
After the jury formed a longlist of 63 authors, each jury member evaluated the works according to their own criteria, taking into account different approaches — from conceptualization to visual embodiment. Thanks to this, it was possible to obtain a multifaceted view of the projects, which made it possible to select a balanced and strong eight finalists.
— Sergey, please tell us about the finalists of the competition. What works made the list and how did they impress you?
— I am very pleased with the results of the competition. When the results of the jury voting were sent to me, and then the stage of preparation of the exhibition and printing of works began, I realized that everything turned out perfectly. It was especially nice to see MYPH students among the finalists, because it proves that they work fruitfully, experiment and create something new.
All finalists deserve their place on the list, because they are people who are truly “in their place” and constantly evolving. Separately, I want to mention the winner of the competition Georgy Ivanchenko. His project on the war in Ukraine impressed me not only with its theme, but also with its approach. This is not just documentary photography — it is artistic expression created through conceptual techniques. For an art and conceptual photography contest, this approach has become ideal.
I also want to note the works of Alexei Chistotin, which continue the traditions of the Kharkiv School of Photography. It is also a documentary photograph about the war, but made using wide angle, hand printing and rich monochrome colors. This is an example where the documentary genre balances on the border with art photography, which is one of our main niches.
Among the finalists is Olya Koval with her project, which I saw earlier. She got to the top eight fully deservedly, like the rest of the participants.
In general, all the finalists and winners are an example of how hard work bears fruit. Their success, in my opinion, will be the motivation for other participants to work further and submit their papers next year.
The evaluation was as transparent as possible, because the jury evaluated the works by concept and visual embodiment, and I know for sure that there was no bias or bias. Everything was fair and I am very proud of the result.
— Were there any categories in the competition? How were the awards distributed among the eight winners?
— The competition had one general category — artistic and conceptual photography. We did not divide the participants into individual themes or genres, but selected eight winners whose works made it to the final exhibition.
We deliberately did not use the word “finalists”, because we believe that being selected from more than 500 applications is already a victory. Therefore, all eight authors are winners of the competition.
Regarding the awards, we did not focus on specific “prize places” in the usual sense. For example, it is important for us that the winners receive not only certificates or prizes, but also the opportunity to participate in the exhibition, which will travel throughout Ukraine and abroad. Participation in the exhibition is already a huge success and a chance for young authors to express themselves.
We also offered special prizes thanks to our partners and patrons. Here are some examples: Heorhii Ivanchenkoreceived a Canon camera, a certificate for training at MYPH, as well as the publication of his project in an artbook from Creative Publishing. Olya Koval received residency in Lithuania. One of the projects chosen by the philanthropist Ivanna Bertrand received a special prize for the best female project. And certificates for different amounts for studying at MYPH were received by all the winners of the competition.
In addition, we have agreed with our partners to organize exhibitions in Europe. Under the terms of the competition, individual projects will be presented in Norway, in Oslo. We are now negotiating with other institutions to continue promoting the exhibition abroad. This will allow to show the works to a wide audience and support Ukrainian art at the international level.
— How did the winners react to their achievements? Maybe there were interesting reviews or feedback?
— For Georgy Ivanchenko it was the first competition, and he himself admitted that he was pleasantly surprised by his victory. He took the risk and immediately won. It is extremely motivating, and I hope that at least part of his success after the contest is due precisely to the resonance of this victory. His works are actively published by both Ukrainian and international media.
We created this contest precisely to help authors find their audience, collector or gallerist. Feedback from participants and winners only confirmed that we are moving in the right direction by supporting young photographers.
— Is the exhibition now available for viewing in Kyiv? What are your plans for her future?
— Until November 24, the exhibition could be seen in Kiev, but now it has been dismantled. We are negotiating for her to go to Lviv. The plans are to show works in other cities of Ukraine, in particular in Nikolaev and Odessa. We communicate with various galleries and institutions to organize further exhibitions. There is an idea to supplement the exhibition with installations or other projects, but the main goal is to show all the works, because they deserve it.
This is the first award organized by the MYPH School. We perceive it as a kind of birthday of a new project. We plan to make this competition annual, develop it, find new partners and sponsors. Next year we will also hold the MYPH Prize, because such initiatives are very important for supporting young authors, especially given the lack of such competitions in Ukraine.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to thank everyone who supported us in carrying out this event and believed in this idea. Especially the philanthropist Ivany Bertrand, who made a significant contribution to the contest. We did not receive any financing from outside, so we organized everything on our own and with the help of Ivanna.
Special thanks to partners, sponsors and jury. Thank you to everyone who helped with the dissemination of information by reposts, organizing prizes. Thanks to your support, we managed to attract serious partners to the competition, and as a result, we collected more than 12 logos on our banners and posters.
This support is inspiring. We also plan to create a printed catalog with the works of the winners to keep this event not only online, but also in physical form. This will help to leave a memory of the competition and motivate even more young authors for the future.
Serhiy Melnichenko— photographer, teacher, founder of the school of conceptual and art photography MYPH. He began photography in 2009. During this time, he participated in about 200 solo and group exhibitions, fairs and festivals around the world. Organizer and curator of more than 40 projects and exhibitions featuring works by MYPH students around the world over the past 5 years. Winner of Ukrainian and international competitions and awards, including “Leica Oskar Barnack Award Newcomer” in 2017 (Berlin), “Photographer of the Year” 2012, 2013 and 2016 (Kyiv, Ukraine), “Golden Camera” in 2012 (Kyiv, Ukraine). Finalist of “Krakow Photomonth”, “Pinchuk Art Center Prize”, “Off_Festival Bratislava 2014", “DEBUTS 2018”, “Kolga Tbilisi Photo Award”, “Batumi Photodays”, etc. Participant of “Paris Photo”, “Volta Art Fair”, “Photo L.A.”, “Photo Basel”, “Unseen fair”. Nominated for the Foam Paul Huf Award in 2020 and 2023. Selected to participate in the European platform for photographers “FUTURES” in 2022. Sergey's photographs are in private and public collections in the USA, Hong Kong, Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany, Belgium, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Japan, Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, etc. In 2022 and 2023, two series and a total of 25 works by Sergei were included in the permanent collection of the Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung Foundation. In 2023, he received an annual scholarship (grant) from the Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung Foundation to create his own photo project.
We worked on the material:}
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Bildeditor: Olga Kovalyova
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kukhar
UAPP is an independent association of professional Ukrainian photographers, designed to protect their interests, support, develop and promote Ukrainian photography as an important element of national culture.
UAPP's activities span educational, social, research and cultural initiatives, as well as book publishing.
UAPP represents Ukrainian professional photography in the international photographic community and is an official member of the Federation of European Photographers (FEP) — an international organization representing more than 50,000 professional photographers in Europe and other countries around the world.
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