{"id":510122,"date":"2026-04-03T03:53:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T03:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/510122\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T03:53:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T03:53:10","slug":"acclaimed-greenock-artists-ukrainian-refugees-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/510122\/","title":{"rendered":"Acclaimed Greenock artist’s Ukrainian refugees exhibition"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n More than 200 people came along to the opening of Jim Strachan’s ‘My Teacher’ showcase at the Wyllieum Art Gallery, which was organised by the Inverclyde<\/a> Ukrainian Club.\n<\/p>\n

\n Art therapist Jim has worked closely with the many Ukrainians who have settled in Inverclyde, helping families to express themselves through painting.\n<\/p>\n

\n He then spent seven months in Ukraine, travelling to some of the cities worst hit by the war, including Kyiv teaching art to communities.\n<\/p>\n

\n \"JimJim Strachan exhibition (Image: George Munro)\n<\/p>\n

\n Speaking to the Tele, Jim said: “I was overwhelmed by the response on my opening night. There were 200 people here to support us from councillors to people I have worked with.\n<\/p>\n

\n “The work I have done with the Inverclyde Ukrainian Art Club is very special to me. They have shown such fight and spirit.\n<\/p>\n

\n “The journey to Ukraine was life changing, we experienced attacks and sirens going off. But people would just come back out and get on with life. The Ukrainians have such resilience and I wanted to show that in my work.”\n<\/p>\n

\n \"JimJim Strachan exhibition (Image: George Munro)\n<\/p>\n

\n \"JimJim Strachan exhibition (Image: George Munro)\n<\/p>\n

\n Throughout his career Jim has worked with young people and that is something he is keen to reflect in his work.\n<\/p>\n

\n He said: “It is so important to show the strength of the young people in Ukraine.”\n<\/p>\n

\n Founder of the Inverclyde Ukrainian Art Club Marina Gorbunova is also an artist and praised Jim’s work, as well as his dedication to supporting the group.\n<\/p>\n

\n \"MarinaMarina Gorbunova at a previous Inverclyde Ukrainian Club event with friend Natalia Zhukevyeh-Stosha (Image: George Munro)\n<\/p>\n

\n She said: “He has made such an impact on his students’ lives. He has been wonderful for the Inverclyde Art Club and we want to celebrate Jim Strachan.\n<\/p>\n

\n “We have had a wonderful response to the exhibition. We want to continue to reach out to people in the community and bring them together through art and culture. That is very important to us.”\n<\/p>\n

\n Marina was forced to flee the under-siege city of Mykolaiv when the Russian invasion began in 2022 and ended up living with a sponsor family in Gourock<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\n Since then she has built a life for herself in Inverclyde and has supported the many Ukrainians who have joined her here.\n<\/p>\n

\n \"JimJim Strachan exhibition (Image: George Munro)\n<\/p>\n

\n Back home in Ukraine her three sons continue to fight on the frontline while her family, including her daughter also live there.\n<\/p>\n

\n She said: “It is very difficult for us all but art helps to keep us focused.”\n<\/p>\n

\n Marina set up the Inverclyde Ukrainian Club which meets on a Saturday and also runs art sessions with Jim in the Dutch Gable House.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 200 people came along to the opening of Jim Strachan’s ‘My Teacher’ showcase at the Wyllieum…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":510123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-510122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=510122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/510123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=510122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=510122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=510122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}