Painted inside the women’s restroom at Imurj in April 2018, Ladies Night grew out of charcoal drawings I made during the venue’s Drink & Draw nights and from the vibrant creative community that filled the space. The mural became my visual way of saying: y’all are welcome here.

Inspiration

The mural grew out of my time at Imurj long before paint ever touched the wall. In fall 2017 and early 2018, I regularly attended the venue’s Tuesday night Drink & Draw sessions, where I made charcoal drawings of people in the space. Those drawings became the earliest visual seeds for Ladies Night. As the mural developed, inspiration also came from the wider Imurj community itself — the employees, artists, supporters, performers, and eventgoers who gave the venue its distinct energy. Even the loosely painted band in the upper portion of the mural was influenced by musicians performing while I worked.

Concept

At its heart, Ladies Night was my way of saying: y’all are welcome here. The women I painted were meant to reflect the range of people who might enter that stall and move through that space. Rather than treating the restroom as an afterthought, I wanted it to feel warm, vibrant, and affirming — another place within Imurj where people could feel seen. The bright crowd scene and saturated palette were meant to echo the electric, creative vibe of the venue itself.

As I painted, the mural continued to evolve in response to the people and events around me. One character expanded after a woman shared how excited she was to see someone in the mural who felt representative of her. Another figure with gray hair and readers was shaped by an exhibition for artists over sixty being installed at the time. A woman in hijab emerged after the venue hosted an event with Muslims from the Lighthouse Group. Another figure drew from the burlesque performances and models who had appeared during live-draw nights. In that way, the mural became not just something painted at Imurj, but something painted with the life of Imurj actively informing it.

Process

Because the mural was painted on a wheelchair-accessible metal stall wall inside the women’s room, the surface was pre-gessoed in advance and I used acrylic paint, which was well suited to a small interior wall protected from the elements. Though the scale was modest, the mural challenged me in important ways. At the time, one of my biggest weaknesses was painting people — especially faces, hands, and feet — so building a crowd scene required patience, layering, and trust in the process. Each figure pushed me a little further.

Why It Matters

Ladies Night marked a turning point for me. It translated the observational gesture drawings I had been making at the venue into mural form, and it gave me a chance to create a work that reflected not only my visual style, but my values around inclusion, warmth, and representation. It was also proof that a mural did not need a giant exterior wall to matter. Sometimes a painted restroom stall in a beloved art space can become the beginning of something much larger.

Title: Ladies Night
Size: 6' h x 6' w
Site/City: Imurj, 300 S. McDowell St., Raleigh, NC 
Medium: Acrylic paint on a gessoed metal stall wall.
Date: April 2018.