On November 9, 2020, an online exhibition of works of the participants of The First Biennale of Naive Art and Primitivism “Velour Cat” named after Andrii Lipatovto the all-Ukrainian Day of Cultural Workers and Folk Art Masters was presented in O.O.Osmerkin Art-Memorial Museum.
    Due to the lockdown and the restrictions on all mass events, the art project was held without viewers and the works of the participants are presented on the museum's website in the section "Biennale “Velor Cat" named after Andrii Lipatov".
    The exposition of the online exhibition consists of 227 works of 55 artists from different cities of our country – Kyiv, Odessa, Chernivtsi, Ternopil, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Mohyliv-Podilskyi, Kremenchuk, Irpin, Myrhorod, Svitlovodsk, Znamianka, and of course Kropyvnytsky, as well as from the villages of Oleksandrivka, Kazarnia, Trepivka, and Skalev in the Kirovohrad Oblast.
    The main tasks of the Biennale are the contribution to the development of amateur and professional creative work based on the appeal to the folk art traditions, forms of artistic and rural folklore, discovery and support of talented artists who work in the genres of Naive Art and Primitivism.
    That is why the participants of the event became both famous professional artists – People’s Artist of Ukraine Mykhailo Nadezhdin (Kropyvnytskyi), Merited Artists of Ukraine Yurii Kafarskyi (Mohyliv-Podilskyi, the Vynnytsia Oblast), Andrii Nadezhdin and Serhii Shapovalov (Kropyvnytskyi), Merited Folk Art Master of Ukraine Oleksandra Prenko (Kropyvnytskyi), iconic figures of modern Ukrainian visual art, painters Volodymyr Kabachenko (Odesa) and Anatolii Furlet (Chernivtsi-Kyiv), members of the National Unions of Artists and Folk Art Masters of Ukraine, as well as the amateur artists of different professions – engineers, journalists, psychologists, librarians, photographers. mathematicians, and linguists, who successfully fulfill themselves through visual art. There are teachers of visual art and students of the Art Department of Central Ukrainian State Pedagogical University named after V.Vynnychenko among the participants of the Biennale.
    The participants are of different age – from 17 years to 85. It allows to grasp the diverseness of Ukrainian visual art.
The curators sent the Diplomas and information catalogs to each participant of The First Biennale. And the artists from Kropyvnytskyi – Merited Artist of Ukraine Serhii Shapovalov, a member of the National Union of Folk Art Masters Yuliia Malezhyk, a master of decorative sewing, a laureate of the Regional Award in Architecture, Heraldry, Vexillology, Decorative and Applied Art named after Yakiv Pauchenko in the nomination “decorative and applied art” Liudmyla Kryvenko, artists Olha Krasnopolska, Olha Shuliak, and Anna Siliveistrova visited the museum and received the Diplomas and information catalogs in person from the museum director Vita Chernova and the leading researcher, merited Artist of Ukraine Andrii Nadezhdin, who is also among the participants of the Biennale.
    It is pleasant to notice that the exhibition was covered by local and state press. The participants of the Biennale and Maryna Lipatova - the wife of the artist after whom the art project was named, also sent feedback on the exhibition. We offer you the reviews translated into English:

    Maryna Lipatova (Kropyvnytskyi) – a wife of the artist Andrii Lipatov:
“I enjoyed discovering unique, talented, incredibly interesting works of the participants of The First Biennale of Naive Art and Primitivism. Each work is unique magic. I wish all the participants of the exhibition to realize their creative ideas, to have inspiration and luck! I am grateful to the staff of O.O.Osmekrin Art-Memorial Museum, personally to Vita Chernova and Andrei Nadezhdin for the development and realization of the unique art project”.
    Iryna Somyk-Ponomarenko (Kyiv) – a participant of the Biennale:
“I consider the Biennale of Naive Art and Primitivism “Velour Cat” interesting because of the opportunity given to “professional” and “amateur” artists to present their works at the all-Ukrainian museum level in the same informative space. The project highlights the inner idea of the works; and the artists can move beyond the affiliation to a certain style or community. Definitely, a high level of the exposition is held by famous artists. Honest and powerful Mykhailo Nadezhdin’s paintings, as always, fascinate and absorb, lead to some other, pure level of perception. At the same time, the online exhibition allows us to see the works of artists who, perhaps, haven’t been involved in exhibition activities before but their creative ideas are outstanding. Also, I’d like to notice the professional approach of the curators of the Biennale in the development of the concept of the exhibition, as well as in its online presentation. Actually, the curators created a mini-website for each participant of the Biennale; and it will allow to analyze and structure a huge information base of a certain cut of Ukrainian art. It is very hard but important work.”
    Andrii Domaranskyi (Kropyvnytskyi) – art-manager “Knyharnia “Ye”, co-organizer of the informational support of the Biennale:
“Anyway, not only Naive is very interesting but also incredibly forceful art genre; and Andrii Lipatov’s creative work proves it. He, better than volumes of works on local history and geography maps, made the history and geography of the town of Kropyvnytskyi expressive. It’s a great idea to realize the Biennale of Naive Art and Primitivism in Lipatov’s town: important and urgent. Deep gratitude to the people of O.O.Osmerkin Art-Memorial Museum for such a great gift during these bad times!”
    Olesia Hudyma (Ternopil) - a participant of the Biennale:
Incredibly grateful to the organizers of the Biennale (Vita Chernova, Andrii Nadezhdin, Oksana Zhuravel) for the possibility to exhibit the works (online) ) #olesyahudymainOsmerkinMuseum. A feeling of presence there, at the moment, fills my heart with joy!!!
    Oksana Zhuravel (Nadezhdina) – a volunteer co-organizer and assistant of the Biennale, a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, a teacher of the art class in Tarashchanska Music School in the Kyiv Oblast:
For me, the “Velour Cat” is a project about the memory of the artist Andrii Lipatov who was personally known by many. Velour Cat remembers everything: windows, ventilation windows, small shops, market rows, bystanders, town streets where the artist lived. Naive art retains originality when an individual artist’s memory becomes the people’s memory with time. Among the works, a diary of trickish dreams of Oleksandr Liapin. Whether the artist lives in this dream or remembers each time when he wakes up… When exploring the exhibition, we remember Yana Diabina-Tovkailo with tender happiness in clear local spots. Tomorrow’s today is yesterday. This is how we used to move from the past into the future, contemplating on the brevity of life which reflects in the works of Iryna Somyk-Ponomarenko. Memories, like storage of the national traditions and personal rethinking, are an integral part of works by Liudmyla Bohdan, Volodymyr Kabachenko, Anatolii Furlet, Mykhailo and Andrii Nadezhdin, Leonid Pavlenko, Volodymyr Tovkailo. I would like to congratulate on the exhibition both the artists and the curators. Your systematic, high-professional work gave its results! It is the first Biennale and we hope for the continuation…”
    Anatolii Furlet (Chernivtsi-Kyiv) - aparticipant of the Biennale, a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine:
“It’s great that such an ambitious project has appeared in Ukraine. And it’s an honor to participate in it. Naive for me like a part of Primitivism Art – is an underrated world treasure that often gives inspiration to professional artists. It is a pure source of creativeness that hadn’t been contaminated by different “-isms”. It is a part of the graphic creativeness of my people which is closely connected with folklore (fairy-tales, legends, songs, etc.); it gives the world deep Ukrainian senses. I wish the project many pleasant, unexpected discoveries.”
    Samartseva Oleksandra (Luhansk-Myrhorod, the Poltava Oblast) - aparticipant of the Biennale, a member of the National Union of Writers of Ukraine:
“Dear curators of the exhibition, thank you very much for the organization of such an incredible event and for the attention to my works! I wish you future inspiration, creative rage, and all the best!”
   Malezhyk Yuliia (Kropyvnytskyi) - aparticipant of the Biennale, a member of the National Union of Folk Art Artists of Ukraine, Ph.D. in Pedagogy:
“The form of the exhibition is unusual for me but I think for the majority of the participants in the current realities and restrictions… Great presentation, decisions, and design! I wish for future development in the area; but I hope next years the Biennale will be held in a usual form. I thank the curators and the well-coordinated team!”.