Fifteen artists from all over Ukraine and other countries gather in Chuhuiv, 25 km from Kharkiv, for annual summer Repin open-air painting.

The plein air festival opened on July 16 will last till August 5, which is the birthday of great Kharkiv artist Ilya Repin.

As the art festival had won the “Small Towns – Great Impressions” national projects contest introduced by the Ministry of Culture, the state budget allocated 500,000 UAH (19,000 USD) to organize it. Overall, the plein air painting marathon is held for the 19th time, but this is the first time it is financed by the state.

Consequently, Chuhuiv turned out to be the art center for three weeks. Costumed tours, historical photo zones and exhibitions engage artists from different cities of Ukraine and various countries including Finland and Latvia. About 10,000 visitors are attending the festival locations.

In the framework of the art marathon, the painters are touring Kharkiv region creating new pictures to be presented at the largest open-air exhibition in Ukraine. The grand gala closing ceremony will traditionally take place on Ilya Repin’s birthday.

The great painter is not only honored by the festival. Yesterday a huge mural depicting a fragment of the famous Repin’s painting “Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to the Turkish Sultan” appeared on a nine-storied apartment building in Chuhuiv. The picture is seven floors high, and its total area is 210 square meters.

The new mural, created by Kailas-V, a group of Kharkiv artists, is located next to their other picture, the black and white portrait of Ilya Repin produced last year.

Text: Olena Sokolynska

Photo: Kailas-V, objectiv.tv