The Young Painter Prize 2025 Exhibition

On Friday, 30 January at 5:00 p.m., the Young Painter Prize 2025 final exhibition of young Baltic painters will open in the three galleries of the Tartu Art House.

The Young Painter Prize 2025 (YPP), one of the most important contemporary art prizes in the Baltic region, concludes with its final exhibition at the Tartu Art House. After successful shows in Riga, Latvia, and Panevėžys, Lithuania, the exhibition in Tartu completes the first-ever cycle across all three Baltic countries, presenting the most promising young painters from the region.

Founded in 2009 by the Lithuanian artist Vilmantas Marcinkevičius, the Young Painter Prize is a non-profit organisation supporting painters aged 18–33 from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and, since 2022, Ukraine. The prize gives young artists the opportunity to present their work, gain recognition and connect with international art professionals. The YPP project supports new talent with monetary prizes and opportunities to reach a larger audience, helping young painters expand their careers. 

The 2025 edition was organised by Giedrė Miller, who oversaw the project and its expansion across the Baltic region. Since 2024, the ambassadors, Andris Vītoliņš in Latvia and Kaido Ole in Estonia, have joined the YPP project, helping it expand beyond Lithuania and reach new audiences across the Baltic region. The Ukrainian artist Anton Pedos serves as a liaison for Ukraine, connecting the project with Ukrainian participants and supporting their involvement in the competition.

The 2025 finalists were selected by an international jury: Gail Buckland, a museum curator and author from the USA, the Estonian painter Kristi Kongi, the Latvian painter Andris Vītoliņš, the British cultural producer Bill McAlister, and Vilmantas Marcinkevičius, the founder of YPP. 

This year’s main Young Painter Prize was awarded to the Estonian artist August Joost, the Luminor Youth Empowerment Award went to the Latvian artist Ieva Kampe-Krumholca, and commendations were given to the Latvian artist Katrīna Levāne, the Ukrainian artist Stefan Stoikov, and the Lithuanian artist Mantas Valentukonis. The People’s Choice Award went to Katrīna Levāne.

The Young Painter Prize is made possible thanks to its main supporters, Luminor Bank and the Lithuanian Council for Culture, and continues to thrive with the help of the long-term patrons Nicolas Ortiz and the Raila family, as well as other private contributors and project partners: the Latvian Academy of Arts, Tartu Art House (Kunstimaja), Pragiedruliai Creativity Center, Pamėnkalnis Gallery, APB Walless COF, Semarah Hotels, Follow.Art and others.

The exhibition will be open until 1 March.

Additional information:
Maret Tamme
Producer of the Tartu Art House
produtsent@kunstimaja.ee
5800 3882
 
www.kunstimaja.ee
facebook.com/kunstimaja
 
The Tartu Art House (Vanemuise 26) is open Wed–Mon 12.00–18.00. All exhibitions are free of charge.
The exhibition activities in the Tartu Art House are supported by the Tartu city government and the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.