On December 8, 2024, the traditional "Art Readings for the Birthday of O.O. Osmerkin" were held at the O.O. Osmerkin Art Memorial Museum on the topic: "Kirovograd Region in the Works of Ukrainian Artists", dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the formation of the Kirovograd region and the 270th anniversary of the founding of the city of Kropyvnytskyi, to the 132nd anniversary of the birth of the artist and teacher Oleksandr Osmerkin.
    The scientific and artistic educational project "Artistic Readings for the Birthday of O.O.Osmerkin" is held annually on the birthday of Oleksandr Osmerkin according to the old calendar style, November 26, or the day before, since on December 8, the artist's birthday according to the new calendar style, the museum holds celebrations on the occasion of the presentation of the regional prize in the field of fine arts and art history named after Oleksandr Osmerkin.
    The purpose of the event is to involve students and teachers of higher educational institutions of the arts and humanities, students and teachers of art schools, as well as museum researchers in scientific research and popularization of the work of the world-famous artist and teacher Oleksandr Osmerkin, the architectural activities of Yakiv Pauchenko and urban planners of Yelysavethrad (now Kropyvnytskyi), the creative heritage of fellow countrymen artists - graduates and teachers of the Evening Drawing Classes of the Yelysavethrad Zemstvo Real School, the work of contemporary Ukrainian artists - laureates of regional art prizes in the field of fine arts and art history named after Oleksandr Osmerkin and in the field of architecture, heraldry and vexillology and decorative and applied arts named after Yakiv Pauchenko.
    The priority task of the event is to provide the project participants with the opportunity to publicly present the results of their scientific research on the history of the development of fine arts in the Kirovohrad region, as well as to increase the role and authority of the O.O. Osmerkin Art Memorial Museum in scientific and educational art history activities. The format of the event is a conference.
    In 2024, taking into account the Decree of the President of Ukraine dated 10/28/2024 No. 740/2024 “On the extension of martial law in Ukraine”, the temporary suspension of the acceptance of materials for the regional prize in the field of fine arts and art history named after Oleksandr Osmerkin in accordance with the order of the Chairman of the Kirovohrad Regional Council dated 03/31/2022 No. 84-gr “On the suspension of the acceptance of competitive materials for the award of regional prizes” and the decision of the Kirovohrad Regional Council dated 08/30/2024 No. 500 “On the suspension of the acceptance of competitive materials for the award of certain regional prizes in 2025”, the relevant restrictions on holding mass events, the scientific and educational project “Artistic readings for the birthday of O.O. Osmerkin” on the topic: “Kirovohrad region in the work of Ukrainian artists”, dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the formation of the Kirovohrad region and the 270th anniversary of the founding of the city of Kropyvnytskyi, to the 132nd anniversary of the birth of the artist and teacher Oleksandr Osmerkin, will be held on December 8 remotely on the museum's website in the "Selected Events" section www.osmerkinmuseum.kr.ua
    Participants of this year's readings are: students of the Department of Art Education and the Department of Choreography of the Faculty of Pedagogy, Psychology and Arts of the Volodymyr Vynnychenko Central Ukrainian State University and the specialty "Architecture and Urban Planning" of the "Architecture and Management" department of the Kropyvnytskyi Construction Vocational College, their teachers - Candidate of Art History, Associate Professor Olena Kyrychenko and teacher of special disciplines of construction and architecture Hanna Kuzmenko, museum scientists - the chief custodian of the funds of the Cultural Heritage Center "Kropyvnytskyi Museum of Musical Culture named after Karol Szymanowski" Olena Klassova, head of the department of the Cultural Heritage Center "Museum of Arts of the Kirovohrad Regional Council" - the working group of the regional editorial board of the volume of the encyclopedic publication "Compendium of Historical and Cultural Monuments in the Kirovohrad Region", member of the National Union of Architects of Ukraine and the National Union of Artists of Ukraine Iryna Kukharenko and specialists of the Art and Memorial Museum O.O. Osmerkin.
    The theme of the art readings "Kirovohrad region in the work of Ukrainian artists" was chosen with the aim of researching and popularizing the visual heritage of artists who, in their paintings and graphic works, recreated the colorful landscapes of the steppe region and the unique architecture of the historical center of the city of Kropyvnytskyi.
    War gives new meanings to everything, society responds to painful challenges and transforms into new forms of interaction. And the most vivid expression of these transformations is art, which, more strongly than any form of social consciousness and any type of social practice, influences a person's consciousness through the emotional and sensory sphere, developing his imaginative thinking and aesthetic perception of reality, forming character, will and worldview, encompassing his entire spiritual world.
    Thematic presentations of participants in the scientific and artistic educational project “Artistic Readings for the Birthday of O.O. Osmerkin” are vivid proof of the importance of studying the history of the development of Ukrainian art, which recreates life in artistic images, conveying the spiritual experience of man and contributing to the establishment of connections between generations.