From 1 to 16 November, the Ukrainian House in Kyiv will host an exhibition that attracted over three million visitors at this year’s world exhibition in Osaka. After six months in Japan, the Ukrainian pavilion Not For Sale is returning home.
The concept of the Ukrainian pavilion at EXPO 2025 is “a shop where nothing can be bought.” The exhibits consist of 18 items, each symbolising a democratic value – freedom of speech, the right to choose, humanity, and other foundations for the future. Visitors can scan the barcodes of the items using special scanners, and instead of prices, video stories from Ukraine appear on the screens, showing the real “price” that Ukrainians pay in their struggle for freedom.
After the EXPO ended, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine returned the project to its homeland. The Not For Sale pavilion and the Values Driven Economyzone, dedicated to the sustainability of Ukrainian businesses, are open to visitors from 1 to 16 November at the Ukrainian House. The exhibition also features the history of world EXPO exhibitions from 1851 to the present day, the creation of the Ukrainian pavilion for 2025, and the immersive video project Home Beyond the Dawn, curated by Nataliya Matsenko, Yuriy Yefanov and Clemens Poole. The video installation brings together the works of thirty contemporary Ukrainian artists and tells the story of how the concept of home is transformed in wartime.
The Ukrainian pavilion at EXPO 2025 has gained international recognition, winning awards for design and in the Best Activation or Engagement category. As the organisers emphasise, its creation was made possible thanks to Ukrainians who not only declare but also embody the values that shape the country’s future every day.