From 22 March to 26 April 2024 in the exhibition hall of the Ust-Ordyn National Centre of Art Folk Crafts (Ust-Ordyn Buryat District) there is an interregional exhibition "Native Art — Relay Race of Generations" dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the birth of the Buryat artist I.A. Arzhikov (1904–1952). He was a native of Khaitik ulus of Nukutsk aimak of Irkutsk province, a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR (since 1933), one of the founders of the Union of Artists of Buryatia.
The exposition presents about 70 works (painting, graphics, decorative and applied art) by 33 artists.
The employees of the Ust-Ordyn National Centre of Artistic Folk Crafts were responsible for the exhibition organisation and curators: methodologist L.V. Rotkina, chief artist E.V. Asalkhanova.
At the exhibition opening, T.A. Boronoeva, the Director of the National Museum of the Republic of Buryatia and a Candidate of Art History, delivered a lecture on I.A. Arzhikov. E.A. Bolsoboev, the Honoured Artist of the Republic of Buryatia and Chairman of the Buryat Republican branch of the Union of Artists of Russia, delivered a welcoming speech. I.Y. Ulzutueva, who shares the same nationality as I.A. Arzhikov and is a graduate of the Irkutsk Art School, discussed her works 'Enkhe-tala' and 'Birth of Geser', which are featured in the exhibition.
I.A. Arzhikov was a pioneering Buryat professional artist and a graduate of the state art studio of I.L. Kopylov (1883–1941). His most renowned work, which has become a part of the golden fund of Buryat art, is the monumental canvas titled 'The Shaman Does Not Heal, but Mutilates' (1929, canvas, oil; 102.5 × 155; National Museum of the Republic of Buryatia, Inventory No. Zh-1012).
I.L. Kopylova, the deputy director of the Irkutsk Regional Art College named after I.L. Kopylov, and E.I. Shtelvag, the chairman of the Irkutsk regional branch of the Union of Artists of Russia, provided the exhibition with works from the college's methodological fund, as well as works by teachers: N.N. Shiglova-Sokovtsova, G.F. Medvedev, M.S. Romanova, and D.V. Starikov.
The education system for fine arts comprises of three levels of training, which are all reflected in the exhibition. The first level includes teachers from children's art schools in the Ust-Ordyn Buryat District, while the second level comprises teachers from the Irkutsk Regional Art College named after I.L. Kopylov. The exhibition displays the continuation of traditions in the work of contemporary artists, including teachers from higher educational institutions such as the Department of Fine Arts and Methodology of Irkutsk State University and the Department of Monumental and Decorative Painting and Design of Irkutsk National Research Technical University. I.L. Kopylov had faith in the hidden creative potential of Siberia.
E.V. Asalkhanova, Cand. Sc. (Art History), curator of the exhibition