In March 2025, True Blue & a Little Bit of Yellow presented a fundraising exhibition titled The Spirit of the Peninsula at Northern Beaches Gallery, Cromer.
Running from 8–22 March, the exhibition invited visitors to walk through the familiar rhythms of the peninsula — its streets, bushland, and the light-filled beaches of North Sydney. The works reflected a strong sense of place while remaining deeply connected to broader stories of belonging and care.
At its heart, The Spirit of the Peninsula was about building a bridge between Australia and Ukraine. Through art, the exhibition created a space for connection, support, and generosity during challenging times, reminding us that local landscapes can carry global meaning.
The exhibition True Blue & a Little Bit of Yellow at Gosford Community Gallery was the first of many we held during the first three years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It marked a moment when art became a way to stand together, to act, and to help. Seven Australian artists of Ukrainian descent, all living and working in Australia, came together to sell artworks and raise funds for Ukrainians in need. The theme — blue and yellow — was both simple and deeply felt: a tribute to the ocean, to emotion, and to shared experience. We are endlessly grateful to everyone who visited, supported the exhibition, purchased artworks, or made a donation. This exhibition ran from 27 June to 1 July 2022, and it set the tone for everything that followed.
I’m honoured to be featured in the Ukrainian magazine The Woman, where I share my journey as an artist and as a Ukrainian woman living and creating in Australia. The article reflects on my creative path, the experiences that shaped my practice, and the way art has helped me stay connected to both place and identity while building a life on the other side of the world. Living between two countries has taught me that connection to homeland doesn’t disappear with distance — it transforms. Through my work, I carry memories, values, and cultural references from Ukraine into my life in Australia, creating a quiet dialogue between the two. Art becomes a bridge, linking landscapes, histories, and emotional ties across continents, and allowing me to feel grounded in both places at once. It is always meaningful to see this story resonate beyond my immediate community, especially when it reaches readers who may recognise their own experiences of migration, belonging, and cultural memory. I’m grateful to the editorial team for their interest and thoughtful approach to telling my story.
