2009 年 12 月 23 日维克多·平丘克基金会宣布设立“未来一代艺术奖”（Future Generation Art Prize），这是针对 35 岁以下的艺术家举办的一项重大的全新国际赛事。该奖项将从全球各地发掘新生代艺术家，并为其提供长期支持。这一独特的奖项关注于艺术家自身，旨在为年轻艺术家创作新作品做出重要贡献。为了支持新生代艺术家，维克多·平丘克 (Victor Pinchuk)基金会设立了首个全球艺术奖项，并通过公开竞赛的方式颁发该奖项。10万美金的奖金、众多知名艺术家的指导，以及在平丘克艺术中心（PinchukArtCentre，简称 PAC）举办展览，是这个奖项的几大亮点。据维克多·平丘克介绍，“在推动年轻艺术家公开参与处于全面转型且富有活力的社会文化发展方面，这一全球性的当代艺术奖项将发挥重要作用。”

为了扩大“未来一代艺术奖”的影响范围，届时约有一百位来自世界各地的艺术专业人士将受邀参与入围艺术家的提名工作。PAC 希望通过公开申请程序与提名相结合的方式，让全球 35 岁以下的年轻艺术家都能参与其中。

为了鼓励老一辈艺术家帮助新生代艺术家，众多知名艺术大师都承诺将长期参与这一奖项，并将亲自为获奖者提供指导和支持。另外，在每次举行入围艺术家作品展的同时，都会有一位艺术大师举办个人作品展。这些艺术大师有：Andreas Gursky、Damien Hirst、Jeff Koons 和 Takashi Murakami。

在谈到参与该奖项的感受时，Takashi Murakami 表示：“日本的年轻艺术家在过去的几年中纷纷开始崭露头角。而这个新奖项就是要让乌克兰及世界其它地区的年轻艺术家们同样成长起来，因为现在艺术领域在不断扩展，同时也在不断萎缩。我很高兴能参加这项活动，并希望这个奖项的规模一年比一年大，名声一年比一年响。”

Damien Hirst 在谈到他为什么支持该奖项时说道：“我认为艺术需要鼓励，而艺术奖项是一种非常重要的鼓励方式。所有的孩子都曾涂涂画画，但大多数却因为种种原因而放弃了。所有人最初都曾有过画画的经历，即使是最后成为银行经理、会计师和律师的人员也不例外。所以说，鼓励艺术是一件非常重要的事情。”

平丘克艺术中心
平丘克艺术中心坐落于基辅 Besarabka 地区的历史建筑群之中，这里曾在过去的十年里经历了重大的变革。这座层高 6 层、占地 43,000 平方英尺的 PAC 于 2006 年 9 月对公众开放，是欧洲最大的当代艺术机构。平丘克艺术中心致力于举办乌克兰和国际权威艺术家的作品展。到目前为止，PAC 举办了个人作品展，包括 Damien Hirst 和 Sam Taylor-Wood 的作品展；以及集体作品展，如“21 Russia”（由 21 位俄罗斯艺术家在二十一世纪初创作的艺术作品）、“Reflection”（国际艺术家作品精选团体展）以及“Red Forest”（由 20 世纪 90 年代的乌克兰创新艺术家们创作的作品，并以与切尔诺贝利核电站毗邻的林区命名进行展出）。

Future Generation Art Prize
Victor Pinchuk Foundation Inaugurates First Worldwide Art Prize,
On December 9, 2009,The Victor Pinchuk Foundation has announced that it has inaugurated the Future Generation Art Prize, a major new international competition for artists up to 35. Established to discover and provide long-term support for a generation of emerging artists, According to Victor Pinchuk, “This worldwide contemporary art prize will be an important contribution to the open participation of younger artists in the dynamic cultural development of societies in global transition.” $100,000 Prize, Mentorship by Renowned Artists and Exhibition at PinchukArtCentre are Among the Benefits of Major New Award.
Extending the reach of the Future Generation Art Prize, an invited group of approximately one hundred arts professionals from around the world will nominate artists for consideration. By combining the open application process with these nominations, PAC aspires to achieve the participation of a true global cross-section of the up-to 35 generation.
To encourage the assistance of one generation of artists to the next, a group of renowned Mentor Artists has committed its long-term participation in the Prize and will provide in-person counsel and support to the Prize winners, and one of the Mentor artists will have a parallel show at the same time as each shortlist exhibition. The Mentor Artists are Andreas Gursky, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons and Takashi Murakami.
Speaking of his participation in the Prize, Takashi Murakami stated, “The last several years made the rising of the young generation of Japanese artists possible. This new prize wants to make this rise happen in Ukraine and the rest of the world, because now the world is expanding and at the same time shrinking. I am very happy to join this project and hopefully this prize will become every year bigger and bigger, and famous and famous-er."
Explaining his support for the Prize, Damien Hirst said, “I think art needs to be encouraged. Art prizes are really important. All children draw and paint and for some reason a lot of them stop. In the beginning they all paint—even the bank managers, accountants and the lawyers. To encourage art is a great thing.”
PinchukArtCentre
Located in the historic architectural complex of Kiev’s Besarabka quarter, which has undergone a major renovation in the past decade, the six-story, 43,000-square-foot PAC opened in September 2006 as one of the largest contemporary art institutions in Europe. Dedicated to presenting exhibitions by leading Ukrainian and international artists, PAC to date has presented solo exhibitions of artists including Damien Hirst and Sam Taylor-Wood, and group exhibitions such as 21 Russia (works created by 21 Russian artists during the first years of the 21st century), Reflection (a group exhibition with a selection of international artists), and Red Forest (works by seminal Ukrainian artists of the 1990s, shown in an exhibition named after a wooded area adjacent to the Chernobyl nuclear station).