Five queer Philadelphians are getting their due with a lush, floral mural

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Philadelphians headed to Voyeur Nightclub on Saturday — and not for late-night mischief. Instead, they went midday to the heart of Philly’s Gayborhood to partake in something quieter: the making of one of the city’s newest murals, a bright, floral tribute to five local LGBTQ+ leaders.

Each advocate — Gloria Casarez, Michael S. Hinson Jr., Tyrone Smith, Nizah Morris and Dawn Munro — are depicted with a different flower symbolizing their legacy.

LGBTQ Heroes paint day at club Voyeur, April 25, 2026. Photo by Elijah Dreuitt.

“Every flower that I’ve selected for the person honors them — you’d lay flowers at a grave site or you could also throw flowers onto a stage after a beautiful performance,” said muralist Santiago Galeas.

Galeas is having quite a year in Philly. In addition to creating the mural’s winning design, his show “Between Roots and Wings” is currently on display at the Philadelphia Magic Gardens.

While Galeas usually sits with his subjects and interviews them for portraits, because each trailblazer is no longer with us he had to change his process. Instead, he spoke with their close friends and loved ones.

“I did the next best thing,” Galeas said. “[I] was talking to people who knew them, so I learned about their legacies.”

LGBTQ Heroes paint day at club Voyeur, April 25, 2026. Photo by Elijah Dreuitt.

Nizah Morris, for example, was a buddhist, as well as a beloved transgender entertainer. Her violent and mysterious death in 2002 remains unsolved, and her case continues to stand as a painful example of unanswered questions and injustice in Philadelphia. Galeas depicted her with a lotus, a symbol of spiritual resilience and beauty that can’t be diminished by the conditions that it grows in.

Tyrone Smith, who passed away last year, was a pioneering AIDS awareness advocate who went on to advise two Philadelphia mayors. He has lupine underneath him, a tall, clustered bloom that thrives in difficult conditions and restores the soil around it.

Michael Henson Jr., whose work centered around helping queer Black and unhoused populations, is depicted with a sunflower for his knack to always face the light — even through adversity.

LGBTQ Heroes paint day at club Voyeur, April 25, 2026. Photo by Elijah Dreuitt.

Galeas noted that some of the floral choices were more obvious than others, like Dawn Monro’s, an esteemed scientist and dedicated organizer for trans rights

“Dawn Monro was bristly and she was Scottish,” Galeas said. “She was a proud, proud Scottish person. So I picked for her the national flower of Scotland, which is the thistle. She was just as bright, just as fierce.”

“Sometimes I had to do research and find a connection. But this one, the loved one, was like, ‘No, she’s a thistle. I could tell you easily.’ “

Civil rights leader Gloria Casarez is the largest figure in the piece. As Philadelphia’s first director of LGBTQ+ affairs and a proud lesbian and latina, she is covered with marigolds — which represent a spiritual bridge to the afterlife in Mexican culture. Speaking with loved ones, Galeas learned more about the Casarez on a personal level — like the fact that she had a big sense of humor or that she traveled everywhere on a bright orange scooter.