On May 23, 2022, a meeting of the jury of the annual art competition "Youth Palette" named after Leonid Bondar for the International Children's Day was held in the O.O.Osmerkin Art Memorial Museum.
    The theme of the 2022 competition was defined as: "Seasons in artistic images" dedicated to the 130th anniversary of the birth of the artist and teacher Oleksandr Osmerkin. But in connection with the large-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and the introduction of martial law on February 24, 2022, the organizing committee of the competition announced an additional topic of the 2022 competition: "War through the eyes of children" and extended the deadline for submitting creative works until May 15, 2022.
    The competition was held on two topics - peaceful and war based on the following types of fine art: painting, graphics, sculpture, decorative art.
The works for participation in the competition were determined in educational institutions according to the preliminary selection and together with the application form were sent in electronic form to the e-mail of the museum.
    261 works were presented for consideration by the jury of the competition, 136 of them on the topic: "War through the eyes of children", 125 on the topic: "Seasons in artistic images". Their authors are 187 participants. These are pupils of the following educational institutions in the city of Kropyvnytskyi: Art School named after Oleksandr Osmerkin, Children's School of Arts, Groups and Studios of Fine and Decorative Art of Taras Shevchenko Grammar School, Educational Complex No. 6, "Mriya", Lyceum "Naukovy", Regional Center of Children's and Youth Creativity , as well as students of the Central Ukrainian State Pedagogical University named after Volodymyr Vynnychenko (Department of Art Education, Faculty of Pedagogy, Psychology and Arts), Kropyvnytskyi Construction College (Department "Architecture and Management").
    The competition is not limited to the city level, young artists not only from the Kirovohrad region, but also from other regions of Ukraine take part in it with pleasure. Students of Mykhailiv Lyceum of Oleksandrivska Settlement Council and Pokrovsky Institution of General Secondary Education of Kropyvnytskyi District of Kirovohrad Region, art class of Taraschan Children's Music School of Kyiv Region, student of Kyiv State Academy of Decorative and Applied Arts and Design named after Mykhailo Boychuk, students of the studio "Design and decor" of the Dnipro City Palace of Children and Youth, among whom are students of the National University "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy" and the Dnipro University of Customs and Finance.
    The children of internally displaced persons from Kharkiv, Berdyansk, Chernihiv, Ruska Lozova of Kharkiv region, who study in the "Ethno-Art" group of Educational Complex No. 6 under the leadership of the famous Kropyvnytskyi carpet maker and Honored Master of Folk Art of Ukraine, Valentina Dobrovolska, also joined the competition. Among them is the youngest participant, Veronika Tkachenko from Berdyansk, who will only be five years old this summer, but she also attends the group with her older sister Victoria, so her picture is "Glory Ukraine!" the jury gave acknowledgment.
    The works of the contestants were evaluated by a competent jury consisting of: Andrii Nadezhdin, leading researcher of the Museum of the Honored Artist of Ukraine, Andrii Hvorost, head of the Kirovohrad Regional Organization of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, Anna Nazarets, head of the Department of Culture and Tourism of the Kropyvnytskyi City Council, candidate of art history, associate professor of the Department of Art Education, Faculty of Pedagogy, of psychology and arts of the Central Ukrainian State Pedagogical University named after V.Vynnychenko Olena Kyrychenko and member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine Lyudmila Demydenko.
    According to the decision of the competition jury, the winners were 62 participants, aged from 7 to 22 years old, whose artistic works were awarded Diplomas of the I, II, III degree in three nominations: I - pupils of primary specialized art educational institutions, schools of aesthetic education; II - pupils of art studios and fine art circles of general educational institutions; ІІІ – students of higher educational institutions of artistic and humanitarian profile according to the relevant age categories. 82 participants in all nominations were honored with thanks and awards from members of the jury and the organizing committee.
    On June 1, 2022, on International Children's Day, on the website of the museum, in the section "Art competition "Youth Palette" named after Leonid Bondar", virtual exhibitions of the works of the winners of the competition on the topics: "War through the eyes of children" and "Seasons in artistic images" will be presented, dedicated to the 130th anniversary of the birth of the artist and teacher Oleksandr Osmerkin, their diplomas, acknowledgments, other awards and thematic booklets with reproductions of works awarded with diplomas.