Evelyn McMurray
she/her
formerly incarcerated
Bio
Evelyn McMurray is a multiply disabled artist, author, community organizer, and custodian. She grew up visiting the Pacific Northwest and decided at the tender age of 7 that she would move here.
A survivor of abuse, torture, and familial suicide, Evelyn was homeless when she became the first college graduate on both sides of her family she was housed when she got her first and only charge--which brought her to prison--""go big or go home, right?"" she likes to joke. She feels remorse for her actions and began building a better future before she even arrived at Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW).
Her bold paintings are abstract geometry intended to bend time, break physics, and defy color theory. 10% of Evelyn's profits will support SafePlace Olympia, a domestic violence center, and 10% will support this Collective.
Future plans include using her knack for performing, public speaking, and writing to develop a national platform to reduce violence.
Meanwhile, Evelyn is using the technical design course taught at WCCW (Hi, Mr. Z!) to create accessible furniture at a reasonable price, gorgeous interior design, scintillating fashion, and maybe some cute shoes!
Contact Evelyn
Please consider writing to Evelyn if you like her work! You can contact Evelyn at solidarityartcollective@gmail.com.
"Bowie Box", acrylic and graphite on paper, 2025, 11"x8.5". A squared spiral in red links arms with a star-shaped spiral in black. Variagated thickness.
"Descending", watercolor on paper, 2026, 4"x6". Olive concentric circles atop a lavender variegated square-spiral; a cobalt French curve stands to the right, having hips at the bottom.
"Ringed", graphite and watercolor on paper, 2026, 4"x6". A rectangular spiral - blue with fuschia borders - with bi-color rings of different sizes interwoven.
"Curve", graphite and watercolor on paper, 2026, 4"x6". Six overlapping French curve shapes in different colors in an abstracted arrangement, deliberately showing both order and chaos.
"Mountain", watercolor pencil on paper, 2026, 4"x6". A purple spiral triangle interwoven with an evergreen circular spiral, with intentional black ink on top and deliberate negative space at surprising places.
"Sun", watercolor on paper, 2026, 4"x6". Quarter of an abstract sun in the bottom left corner. Cartoonish sunrays radiate through the rest of the painting, alternating with an abstract sky. Deliberate negative space, wet-blended multi-tonal composition.