A mural honoring Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee who was tragically killed, will find a new home at a Providence, Rhode Island business. This follows a backlash led by left-wing activists and Mayor Brett Smiley, which led to the initial project’s cancellation.
Opa the Phoenician, a Lebanese eatery situated in the historic Federal Hill district, has offered its walls to showcase the mural. Artist Ian Gaudreau began painting the piece there on Friday.
The mural was originally intended for The Dark Lady, an LGBT bar located downtown. However, after facing significant criticism, the establishment decided to halt and eventually cancel the mural’s development.
The partially completed mural of Iryna Zarutska was initially displayed on the side of The Dark Lady, located at 19 Snow St. Providence, as seen on March 30, 2026. (Photo by David DelPoio/The Providence Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Mayor Smiley emerged as a key opponent of the mural project.
In his statement, Mayor Smiley expressed sympathy for the tragedy but criticized the mural’s funding, suggesting it was divisive and not reflective of Providence’s values. He urged the community to support local artists whose work fosters unity rather than division.
Co-owner of Opa, Francois Karam, emphasized that the restaurant is owned by immigrants and the mural is a way to honor Zarutska’s story as an immigrant.
“[Iryna] was once an immigrant chasing the American dream,” Karam said, according to WJAR. “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.”
Iryna Zarutska cowers as her attacker towers over her on Aug. 22. 2025. (NewsNation via Charlotte Area Transit System)
Gaudreau echoed that sentiment.
“He has an immigrant family story himself,” he said of Karam. “So he really connected with that Iryna, and he felt really passionate about the project.”
Zarutska was killed on Aug. 22 after she was randomly stabbed from behind on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light-rail train. The suspect in her unprovoked murder is Decarlos Brown Jr., who had a lengthy rap sheet, including convictions for larceny, breaking and entering, and armed robbery.
Booking photo of Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., taken Sept. 14, 2022, following his arrest in Mecklenburg County. Brown, 34, is now charged in the Aug. 22, 2025, stabbing death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska aboard a Charlotte light-rail train. (Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office)
He had previously served five years in prison.
Fox News Digital reached out to Smiley’s office.
