(L) Screen capture of artist Ian M. Gaudreau painting a Mural honoring Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska (via: Ian M. Gaudreau; X) / (R) Screen capture of the work-in-progress of a Mural honoring Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska (via: Ian M. Gaudreau; X)
After Providence, Rhode Island, Mayor Brett Smiley pressured a local gay bar to remove a mural of slain Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was stabbed last year while on a Charlotte Area Transit System train in North Carolina, the artist has found a new home for the tribute.
Mural painter Ian Gaudreau began his work this past Friday at Opa the Phoenician, a Lebanese restaurant in Providence’s Federal Hill neighborhood.
The relocation follows a heated public debate over the original site at The Dark Lady, where the project was halted after the Democrat mayor labeled the mural “divisive,” despite the fact that it is in memory of the innocent 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee whose life was taken too soon.
The killing of Zarutska, on August 22, 2025, was carried out by DeCarlos DeJuan Brown Jr., a 34-year-old man with a long criminal rap sheet. He fatally stabbed Zarutska in an unprovoked attack, reportedly motivated by racial hatred, while she was riding the LYNX Blue Line light rail in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Reports from the scene and subsequent legal filings indicate that, at the time, DeCarlos Brown Jr. could be heard shouting, “I got that White girl!”
The restaurant’s Lebanese owners, who are immigrants themselves, chose to exhibit the piece of art as a tribute to Zarutska’s memory and her lived experience as a refugee. Their decision ensures the artwork serves as a public testament to her journey and the shared immigrant experience.
“It doesn’t matter if you come from Ukraine or Lebanon. We ought to love each other more,” said Francois Karam, the co-owner of the Lebanese restaurant, adding that he felt a personal connection to Zarutska.
JUST IN: Democrat Mayor of Providence, RI Brett Smiley, is calling for a mural of Iryna Zarutska which is the middle of being painted in the city to be TAKEN DOWN
Following the news of Zarutska’s murder, Intercom CEO Eoghan McCabe, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and influencer Andrew Tate had pledged to fund the installation of commemorative artwork in major cities across the U.S. to honor the 23-year-old refugee.
I am offering $500k in $10k grants to paint murals of the face of Iryna Zarutska in prominent US city locations
According to President Donald Trump, DeCarlos Brown Jr. had been released from custody on 14 separate occasions under cashless bail policies, which the president cited as a direct consequence of “soft-on-crime” Democrat agendas.
Last week, Gaudreau endorsed a petition to save the mural, which received more than 13,000 verified signatures on change.org by publication time. “Don’t let Mayor Smiley erase her memory,” the petition’s web page asserts.
Gaudreau then announced a search for a new canvas, at one point, noting his willingness to bring the project to Boston. Since Friday, the artist has been documenting his progress as he works to recreate the tribute. “Big day today, folks we are making moves!” he celebrated in an X post on Friday.
The new site is located less than a mile from the original location, roughly a five-minute drive away.
“[Iryna] was once an immigrant chasing the American dream,” The restaurant owner, Karam, continued. “She worked to build a life for herself and lost it along the way. This mural is our way of honoring her on a building owned by an immigrant family who understands that journey.”
I’m just so glad that despite all the nonsense surrounding my current situation, I get to paint today! The weather is looking decent
