Providence Removes Mural of 23-Year-Old Iryna Zarutska as Mayor Calls It Divisive
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 12
Providence Removes Mural of 23-Year-Old Iryna Zarutska as Mayor Calls It Divisive
6 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 12
A construction crew on Tuesday took down the partly finished canvas mural of murdered Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska from The Dark Lady, an LGBTQ+ club in downtown Providence.
Local backlash drove the removal: artist Ian Gaudreau said residents' complaints were heard, and Mayor Brett Smiley said the work was divisive and did not represent Providence.
Anthony D'Ellena, chairman of the Narragansett Republican Party, launched a petition to save the mural and urged another Rhode Island business to host it instead.
The mural was part of a national memorial effort launched after Zarutska, 23, was fatally stabbed on a Charlotte light-rail train in 2025; Intercom CEO Eoghan McCabe pledged $500,000 and Elon Musk added $1 million.
Are national memorial projects a form of community support or an imposition of outside agendas?
Can a public memorial be a true tribute if the victim’s family never gave their permission?