Biennale of naive art and art of primitivism named after Andrii Lipatov "Velour Cat" to the All-Ukrainian Day of Culture Workers and Folk Art Masters (November 9) was launched by the Oleksandr Osmerkin Art Memorial Museum with the support of the Department of Culture and Tourism of the Kropyvnytskyi City Council in 2020. One of the co-organizers of the unique art event is the Kirovohrad regional organization of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine.
    The aim of the art project is the preservation and development of original folk traditions in modern amateur and professional fine art, the popularization of fine art as one of the effective means of development of the Ukrainian culture, and the perpetuation of the memory of the original naïve master, countryman artist, member of the National Union of Masters of Folk Art of Ukraine Andriy Lipatov.
    Andrii Lipatov (1960-2010) was a mechanical engineer by profession, and an artist by heart. He lived a short but extremely bright life. His original paintings were exhibited at exhibitions and festivals of folk, decorative and applied and naive art not only in Ukraine, but also in France, Russia, Great Britain and Ireland. The works of the talented artist are in the collections of many museums and private collections in Ukraine and abroad. The mural depicting his painting "Promenade on Dvortsova", made in 2019 on the wall of the Museum of Arts on the occasion of the 265th anniversary of Kropyvnytskyi, is the original business card of the city.
    Andriy Lipatov's painting "The Velour Cat" (1998), which gave the name to the art project and became the basis of the Biennale logo, is preserved in the collection of the Oleksandr Osmerkin Art Memorial Museum. "This work with the image of a velour cat not only reflects the author's view of the surrounding world and is his kind of self-portrait, as indicated by the monogram "AL" adorning the side of the cat, but also, thanks to its immediacy and high artistic professionalism, reflects general moods of two artistic trends - naive art and primitivism", - this is exactly the explanation given in the scientific concept of the Biennale by its author, leading researcher of the museum, art critic, Honored Artist of Ukraine Andrii Nadezhdin, who, unfortunately, suddenly passed away on October 19, 2022 .
    In 2022, the Biennale will take place in a virtual format in connection with the introduction of martial law in Ukraine. The exposition of the exhibition of the participants of the Second Biennale of naive art and the art of primitivism "The Velour Cat" named after Andriy Lipatov to the All-Ukrainian Day of Cultural Workers and Masters of Folk Art consists of more than 250 works by almost 80 authors from different regions of Ukraine and other countries, where our compatriots were forced to leave with the beginning of a full-scale military invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine.
    Since the priority tasks of the Biennale are to promote the development of amateur and professional creativity, based on the appeal to folk artistic traditions, forms of urban and rural folklore, the identification and support of talented artists who work creatively in the artistic directions of naivety and primitivism, its participants became professional artists - members of National Unions of artists, masters of folk art of Ukraine, photographers, architects, as well as amateur artists, different in terms of professional education, who are successfully realized in fine arts. Students of higher educational institutions of artistic direction - Central Ukrainian State University named after Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Faculty of Pedagogy, Psychology and Arts, Department of Art Education (Kropivnytskyi), Kyiv State Academy of Decorative and Applied Arts and Design named after Mykhailo Boychuk, Kropyvnytskyi Construction Professional College, department "architecture and management", specialty "architecture and urban planning", and students of the art studio of the Center for Youth with Disabilities "Silny Duhom" of the Kirovohrad Regional Public Organization of Mothers of Disabled Children and Disabled "Mother's Heart" (Kropivnytskyi) actively participated in the Biennale.
    Symbolism, decorativism, realism and aesthetic kitch conditionally determine the main directions of creative pursuits of artists whose works are presented in the exposition of the exhibition. Each of the artists presents his own artistic idea, going beyond any stylistic features and generally accepted artistic stamps. Many author's works were created in the conditions of martial law and reflect the terrible realities of war, as well as the thoughts, feelings and faith in the Victory of the Ukrainian people in the struggle for the territorial integrity of their country, its independence and freedom. The exhibition vividly demonstrates that even under the circumstances of a brutal war, creative life does not stop, and the enemy can be fought with art. And modern Ukrainian fine art is a reproduction of the national culture of the free people of Ukraine.