Annually, in May, Shevchenko’s literature and art feast “In a free, new family…” is celebrated in Ukraine. Various art events, including literature meetings, exhibitions, artistic ensembels performances, are being held within the feast.
    The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine and the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, the Directorate of the art exhibitions of Ukraine within the mentioned above feast organize and conduct an all-Ukrainian exhibition “Picturesque Ukraine” which is held in Kropyvnytskyi this year, in the Regional Art Museum, O.O.Osmerkin Art-Memorial Museum, and Gallery “Yelisavethrad”, in particular.
    The history of the foundation of the project is rather interesting. In 1844, Taras Shevchenko published an album of etchings “Picturesque Ukraine” which was meant to be a periodical about the history, folk life, customs, nature, and historical landmarks of Ukraine, which he sketched during his travels.
    The exposition of the exhibition “Picturesque Ukraine” usually comprises new paintings and graphic works which continue art principles and traditions established by T. Shevchenko in “Picturesque Ukraine”; and illustrate the creative work of the artists who follow the path of searches through the national to the world, rethinking the achievements of Ukrainian culture, finding modern compositional and coloristic decisions.
    The all-Ukrainian art exhibition “Picturesque Ukraine” is aimed at the consolidation of artistic achievements of famous artists and creative youth from all the regions of Ukraine, presentation of the tendencies of the modern visual art to a broad audience.
    The idea of the exhibition came at the beginning of the 1980s. At first, it was exhibited only in Kyiv and Cherkasy; and since 1990, it has become annual and covered all the regional centers of Ukraine, aiming to promote modern Ukrainian visual art and honor the Great Kobza Player. In 2005, the exhibition was presented in Kropyvnytskyi (then Kirovohrad) for the first time – paintings were shown in the Regional Art Museum, while graphic works in O.O.Osmerkin Art-Memorial Museum.
    The current exhibition includes about 300 paintings and graphic works both by well-known masters and young artists, who are representatives of the main regional art schools of Ukraine.
    More than 50 graphic works are exhibited in the exhibition halls of O.O.Osmerkin Art-Memorial Museum. Works of the following artists are shown: works of People’s Artists of Ukraine Mykhailo Nadezhdin (Kropyvnytskyi) and Mykola Prokopenko (Odesa), Merited Artists of Ukraine Anatolii Yaniev (Kropyvnytskyi), Feliks Polonskyi (Kropyvnytskyi), Andrii Nadezhdin (Kropyvnytskyi), Anatolii and Halyna Kravchenko (Odesa), Merited Worker of Culture of Ukraine Mykhail Svatula (Kharkiv). The exposition of the exhibition was based on the graphic works from the museum collection “Modern Ukrainian Visual Art”.
    Watercolors, etchings, drawings made with various graphic materials demonstrate the beauty of unique landscapes of our country, artists’ fascination with the world of Ukrainian culture, and original images of the legendary history of our people.