A Scottish artist is running art therapy painting workshops in Mykolaiv

James Strachan and Maryna Horbunova, co-authors of the Scottish mental health recovery project «Ukrainian Art Project» and co-founders of the «Inverclyde Ukrainian Club» in western Scotland, are currently visiting Mykolaiv. On 10, 11 and 14 April, they held masterclasses in oil painting for pupils at the Children’s Art School.

James Strachan is a Scottish artist who lives and works on the west coast of Scotland. He graduated from the Glasgow School of Art. He has taken part in numerous exhibitions, both national and international. James is also a prolific monumental artist who undertakes various commissions in Scotland. For 15 years, he served as director of the Scottish charity «RIG Arts», working as a teacher and art therapist, which has given him significant experience in promoting the mental wellbeing of city dwellers.

«This is my third visit to Ukraine in two years. We arrived in Mykolaiv on 1 April and will be running masterclasses at the art school for two weeks. Then we’ll head to Kyiv and spend two weeks running masterclasses at the National University of Culture and Arts. I’ve been teaching children and adults for 25 years now. I was at «Khudozhka» for the first time last year, and I really liked the atmosphere at the school. Ukrainian pupils are different from Scottish ones: they absorb information better, and there’s a stronger response to my advice in their work,» said James.

Maryna Horbunova is a resident of Mykolaiv. At the start of the war, she left for Scotland, where she met James at his art therapy sessions. At the time, she was in a difficult psychological state, as her three sons had gone to defend Ukraine. Marina’s mother remained in Mykolaiv, so she visits her often. When she and James first came to Mykolaiv, Marina took him to see the art school she had once attended.

«Yevheniia Kruchynina gave us a very warm welcome and showed us the school’s new building. It hadn’t been renovated yet, but you could already sense its potential. We walked through all the classrooms — it was moving; I even cried,» recalls Maryna.

On that occasion, James held a masterclass for the art school pupils on Leonardo da Vinci’s technique.

«It’s a complex technique,» Marina explained. «Only the older pupils took part. James was pleased with the result from the very first attempt, even though the children had never worked with oil paints before. Back then there was no canvas — they painted on cardboard, which made the process more difficult. This time we bought canvas mounted on chipboard to make it easier for the children to work. James wants to teach them the Florentine style of painting. We saw that the children were interested in the first masterclass; they tried hard and did well, so we decided to continue.»

Maryna Horbunova explained that James actively supports Ukraine, particularly Ukrainians who moved to Scotland during the war. He runs art therapy sessions for children and adults. For two years, James and Marina worked on a voluntary basis. And in the autumn of 2025, they managed to establish a non-profit organisation, which opened up the possibility of receiving grants to implement projects. Today, it is a strong association of Ukrainians in Scotland, which organises masterclasses, meetings and festivals of Ukrainian culture. Representatives of other diasporas living in the region also eagerly take part in these events.

«James Strachan organised auctions of his pupils’ artwork in Scotland, and used the funds raised to purchase art and drawing materials and send them to the school,» added Natalia Makhova, the acting headteacher of the school.

«Scottish children also put together parcels with gifts for the children of Mykolaiv. They were lovely little things: sweets, socks, toys, but this support was very important to us.»

The masterclass took place in the Communite House community space run by the NGO «10 April», located in the art school’s new building.

«Our organisation carried out the renovation of this space and the art school’s classrooms. We have plans to further develop the school’s inner courtyard. The space is open to all community organisations and initiative groups, — said the centre’s coordinator,» Nataliia Morka.

On the final day of the sessions, Yurii Liubarov, Head of the Department of Culture and Cultural Heritage Protection at Mykolaiv City Council, visited the art school. He thanked the Scottish guests for their attention to the children of Mykolaiv and presented them with a book on the history of Mykolaiv in English. The teaching staff of the art school presented James Strachan with a certificate of appreciation and gifted James and Maryna a vyshyvanka and a scarf.

As a reminder, a book on the history of photography in the city was presented in Mykolaiv.