Travel to Art Award 2025 and the People Shaping Creative Value

Creative work often grows in quiet conversations rather than public statements. It takes shape when people from different disciplines meet, listen, and recognise shared values. The Travel to Art Award exists within that space, where culture is treated not as display, but as labour, responsibility, and connection.

On December 12, during Art Basel Miami Beach, the 2025 edition of the Travel to Art Award brought together writers, designers, photographers, artists, and cultural figures working across borders. Miami, with its constant movement between art and commerce, felt like a fitting place for this meeting.

Hosted by Marta Alexandrovna, with a live musical performance by Elen Smile, the evening unfolded without urgency. The setting encouraged exchange rather than spectacle. Guests reflected on the intensity of Art Basel week, spoke about their own practices, and spent time with people whose work continues far beyond seasonal attention.

More than a ceremony

Held annually in December, the Travel to Art Award was created as a professional platform rather than a celebratory endpoint. Its purpose lies in creating space for dialogue, collaboration, and reflection on how creative work participates in cultural and economic life in the United States.

The 2025 edition focused on three core directions.

• Opening space for professional exchange between creative leaders
• Bringing attention to projects that build long term cultural value
• Strengthening international connections between culture, business, and community

Receiving the award marks recognition, but it also signals continuity. Each recipient contributes to an ecosystem where creative work carries weight beyond personal success.

Travel to Art Magazine and the wider context

The award is organised by Travel to Art Magazine, an international publication registered in Florida. The magazine examines how culture intersects with economic processes, urban development, and global markets.

This perspective reflects a larger picture. According to UNESCO and UNCTAD, the global creative economy generates around 2.3 trillion dollars annually, with close to one trillion coming from the United States. Behind these figures are individual practices, local initiatives, and sustained creative work that often remains unseen.

Winners of the Travel to Art Award 2025

Seven creatives were recognised this year across different disciplines.

Masters of the Word

Yulia Strokova, a Miami based writer and journalist, received the award for her clear authorial voice and contemporary narrative approach. The jury noted her attention to storytelling and commitment to original content. The award was presented by jury member Dmytro Zelenov.

Space Creators

Olena Shabanova, Best Interior Designer
With professional experience shaped in Ukraine and Europe, Shabanova approaches interiors through structure and architectural thinking. Her work reflects a design culture where space is treated as a system, informed by function, logic, and lived experience.

Visual Arts

Valeriia Kuzmina, Best Home Newborn Photographer
Working in Miami, Kuzmina approaches motherhood and family as lived stories rather than visual categories. Using natural light and minimal intervention, she focuses on emotional presence while building an educational community around conscious family photography.

Tamarina Anastasiia, Best Wedding Photographer
Part of a new generation of photographers, Anastasiia works through observation rather than direction. Her practice allows moments to unfold naturally, framing weddings as intersections of memory, space, and human connection across European and U.S. contexts.

Fashion and Beauty Industry

Anna Petrovska, Best Costume Designer
Through her project Beyond Size, Petrovska works at the intersection of fashion, movement, and psychology. Her research led practice questions fixed standards by creating adaptive garments that respond to bodies rather than impose form.

Additional honorees included
Bibi Lawrence, Best Fashion Designer
Veronika Haidai, Best Colorist

Jury and international perspective

The 2025 jury brought together professionals working across cultural fields and geographies.

• Flávio Iryoda, founder and editor in chief of Avessa Magazine
• Dmytro Zelenov, writer and screenwriter
• Vlad Sludskiy, art curator and founder of Qazart
• Emil Akhundov, art director of The MOST Magazine
• Lex Melony, London based filmmaker, founder of the OFN LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, and CEO of LEXME Media Group
• Hanna Boiko, hair and coloration expert known for her science based and ethical approach to beauty

Together, the jury reflected the award’s international outlook and its commitment to cross disciplinary exchange.

Partners and creative collaboration

Partners of the Travel to Art Award 2025 included Dallas Fashion Week, Millecento by Pininfarina, and Ukrainian sculptor Astian Rey, creator of the award sculpture.

The official media partner was Flicker Magazine, part of LEXME Media Group.

Among the creative partners was OL’SVOL’D, a Ukrainian artist working in abstract sacred art. His practice explores colour and form as tools for introspection. In 2024, he received the Travel to Art Award in the Editor’s Choice category.

The sculpture behind the award

The Travel to Art Award sculpture was created by Ukrainian sculptor Astian Rey. Working with electric welding and combining metal with concrete, his practice draws inspiration from the Winged Victory of Samothrace. His interpretation reflects movement, confidence, and forward motion.

Looking ahead

Over time, Travel to Art has grown beyond a magazine. It now functions as a communication platform with its own creative ecosystem, bringing together people who approach culture not only as expression, but as structure.

The next Travel to Art Award will take place on December 6, 2026, during Art Basel Miami on South Beach.