An exhibition of artwork by a 15-year-old Ukrainian refugee now living in Runnymede has been launched at the Chertsey office of Voluntary Support North Surrey.
The artwork by Alex Zhurba was officially unveiled by the Deputy Mayor of Runnymede, Cllr Shannon Saise-Marshall.
The exhibition has been curated by Irina Mushtina and son Alex, who are from Kyiv, to raise awareness and donations for children’s prosthetics in aid of Ukraine.
It chronicles the first 30 days of war in Ukraine, shown through children's art, with a description of each day. Different Ukrainian cities are shown, with people fleeing, while children try to study under missile strikes and observe events around them.
Visit our facebook page to see Alex's work and pictures from the launch of the exhibition
Based on Alex’s experiences of the first 30 days of the war, he explained
On day one of the conflict, a missile flew past my window. I started keeping a diary about the emotional thing that was happening.
We were able to reach a place where we were safe and everything is okay. A lot of children were not. They were murdered and injured. I thought about how I could help – and so this exhibition is the result. This is about raising awareness, but also any money raised from this exhibition and the sale of my artwork will go to a Ukraine charity providing prosthetics for children who have been injured.”
As well as the Deputy Mayor, Cllr Chris Howorth was also present at the launch. Cllr Howorth is Deputy Chair of the Council’s Corporate Management Committee, which has overseen the authority’s response to the Ukrainian war.
Cllr Howorth said:
It was truly a pleasure to take part in the unveiling of Alex’s pictures. It was very pleasing to see so many Ukrainian guest families represented and enjoying an event that recognised their suffering whilst, at the same time, celebrating the support they have here in the UK and in Runnymede specifically.
It was uplifting to see the way in which Alex’s art was also a way of alleviating some of the trauma that he and all our guests had faced and, at the same time, explaining it to those of us who have not experienced it first hand.”
Cllr Mark Nuti, the county councillor for Chertsey and also a member of Runnymede Borough Council, was also present.
Runnymede Borough Council has helped to connect 54 host families with 101 Ukrainians in the Borough and continues to support refugees working alongside partners including Voluntary Support North Surrey. The Council has recruited two resettlement co-ordinators and a translator to make this process as easy as possible for both host families and those coming from the country. There are a further 12 host families waiting for Ukrainian families to arrive who they have been paired up with, and 38 hosts waiting to be paired with families.
The Council has an information hub on its website dedicated to explaining the help available to Ukrainian families.
The exhibition of Alex’s work is available to view at Voluntary Support North Surrey’s offices in Chertsey: 6 The Sainsbury Centre, Chertsey, KT16 9AG until the end of September. It will then go on a tour around some Surrey libraries.
To buy the art or donate, visit the website
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