Minnie Evans: Draw or Die
Sep 25, 2026, 6 pm, 7 pm, 8 pm
Minnie Evans, c. 1950s, photographer unknown, from the film Minnie Evans: Draw or Die 2026
Tickets
Free with Museum admission. Seating is first come, first served.
Admission is free to all visitors every Friday evening from 5–10 pm. Though admission is free, tickets are required and capacity is extremely limited. Advance tickets are recommended.
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Floor 3, Theater
Join us for a screening of Minnie Evans: Draw or Die at Free Friday Nights, in conjunction with The Lost World: The Art of Minnie Evans.
Minnie Evans: Draw or Die is a visually rich documentary exploring the life and work of Minnie Evans (1892–1987), a self-taught African American artist whose intricate dream-like drawings emerged from a deeply spiritual inner world. Evans began making art in the 1930s and continued through the 27 years she worked as the gatekeeper at Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Her art—filled with bold color, symmetrical patterns, and mystical symbolism—defied convention and classification. Through interviews, family recollections, and Evans’s own voice, lifted from archived conversations with photographer and advocate Nina Howell Starr, the film traces Evans’s journey from obscurity to national recognition. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Linda Royal, Minnie Evans: Draw or Die offers an intimate, poetic portrait of a woman who followed a spiritual calling to create, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most important American artists of the 20th century.
The total run time is 56 minutes, and screenings begin at 6 pm, 7 pm, and 8 pm.
