The project of the "Pushkin's images in creativity of Naive Artists of Russia" exhibition was launched in 1997, when it received Russian President's competitive grant. For the first time ever, naive artists won so high public support and recognition. Before that, there were the "INSITA-97" International Exhibition Of Naive Art in Bratislava, the "Naive Artist in Russia" exhibition in Moscow and, last but not least, the opening of the Municipal Museum of Naive Art in Moscow. Many of the country's cultural institutions and the media and many artists responded favourably to the idea to go ahead with an exhibition for the bicentenary day of Pushkin's birth.
With over 70 contributors from 22 regions and territories of Russia, extending from Kaliningrad province to Krasnoyarsk region, from Murmansk to Krasnodar, the exhibition strikes a remarkable geographical range. Another welcome feature about it is that it has attracted new talents, who will no doubt prove up to the mark in years to come.
The exhibition had come into its own by the autumn of 1998 and earned support from Moscow's Committee for Culture, Moscow's Eastern District Prefecture, the Russian Federation's Ministry of Culture and the Assistance Fund of the "Open Society" Institute. The exhibition will travel over ten of small and big towns this year and will be staged at the Central Artists' Home in Moscow during the bicentenary festival.