A mural painted to honor Iryna Zarutska — the Ukrainian refugee who was murdered while riding a North Carolina train — is being taken down after outrage in Providence, Rhode Island.
On Tuesday, a construction crew was seen near the exterior of The Dark Lady, an LGBTQ+ club in downtown Providence, working to remove the partly finished mural. The mural, which was painted on canvas, was lowered to the ground, folded up and taken away, WJAR-TV reported.
Artist Ian Gaudreau confirmed the news that the artwork was going to be removed after local outrage.
"A lot of people voiced their frustrations, and voices were heard, and the work is coming down as a reaction to that," Gaudreau told WJAR-TV Monday.
The mural's removal came as residents and elected officials complained about the artwork. The office of Mayor Brett Smiley told Fox News that he wanted the artwork taken down, saying that the art is "divisive and does not represent Providence."
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