On July 26, 2022, a creative meeting with the Kyiv artist Oksana Samiylenko and the presentation of her virtual personal exhibition of graphics "Stay with Ukraine Together with Ukraine" took place in the O.O.Osmerkin Art Memorial Museum for the Day of Ukrainian Statehood - a public holiday, which will be celebrated for the first time year, July 28, on the Day of the Baptism of Kyivan Rus-Ukraine.
    Oksana Samiylenko was born in our city, then Kirovohrad, and now Kropyvnytskyi, in the family of an artist. She graduated from a children's art school. Acquired the profession of an artist. She created series of graphics "My Ukraine" and painting "Landscapes of Kyiv and Kropyvnytskyi". Since 2017, a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine.
    The exposition of the presented exhibition consists of 35 graphic sheets made by the artist with markers in February-June 2022 during her forced emigration to Europe after the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine. At the beginning of March, Oksana Samiylenko left Kyiv, where she has been living for the past few years. She visited many European countries that accepted Ukrainians affected by the war. Moving from city to city - Prague, Budapest, Vienna, Bratislava, Karlovy Vary, Dresden, Munich, Regensburg, Strasbourg, Paris, Barcelona - she recorded her forced journey in graphic sketches.
    "War changes people's lives. Sometimes we are forced to leave our home. Cities and countries pass by outside the window, but the soul remains with Ukraine. Sorrow disappears when you feel the support of the world, when you see the colors of your country's flag in people's clothes, in the windows of houses and on buildings, as a symbol of unity, as a symbol of a common belief in victory. Being a witness of a turning point in history, I, as an artist, hastened to depict it on paper... Stay with Ukraine", - this is how Oksana Samiylenko characterizes her series of graphic works.
    During the creative meeting, the artist not only commented on her works - in which country, city and under what circumstances the drawing was made, which inspired her to create this graphic series, but also talked about her trip to Europe, about her own thoughts and emotions that she filled in when she was riding in a crowded train, and especially about how they support Ukrainians in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Germany, France, Spain, providing all kinds of help and expressing solidarity with the people who are fighting for freedom and will, independence and territorial integrity. In every country, she was met by the Ukrainian flag on the central squares of cities and in the windows of houses, as well as numerous blue and yellow ribbons on the clothes of local residents.
    On the opening of the exhibition, Oksana Samiylenko was congratulated by the director of the museum, Vita Chernova, who presented the exhibition booklet prepared by the museum, the head of the Kirovohrad regional organization of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, Andriy Hvorost, who presented the recently printed catalog of Kirovohrad artists "Colors of the Steppe", honored journalist of Ukraine Vasyl Bondar, leading researcher of the museum, honored artist of Ukraine Andriy Nadezhdin, teacher of the Oleksandr Osmerkin art school Lyubov Kiryanova, chief custodian of the funds of the Karol Shimanovsky museum of musical culture Olena Klassova, colleagues, friends.
    Everyone who came to the opening was interested in looking at the artist's graphic works presented in the museum hall, which are part of the exhibition, the exposition of which can be found in full on the museum website in the "Selected exhibitions" section.