Directed by Linda Royal (US, 2025, 56 min.).

This visually rich and emotionally resonant documentary explores the life and work of Minnie Evans (1892–1987), a self-taught African American artist who, propelled by a voice that told her to “draw or die,” created intricate, dream-infused drawings revealing 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 archival interviews, family recollections, and Evans’s own voice—lifted from archived conversations with photographer and advocate Nina Howell Starr—this film traces the artist’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 visionary artists of the 20th century.