As Anchorage grapples with a worsening vagrancy crisis and growing outlaw encampments spreading through public spaces, Mayor Suzanne LaFrance has unveiled her latest initiative: a taxpayer-funded public arts campaign called “Beyond the Beige.”
The $100,000 program, a joint venture between the Municipality of Anchorage and the Anchorage Community Development Authority, has funded five projects designed to make the city’s public spaces more visually engaging. The mayor’s announcement comes at a time when residents are voicing increasing concerns about crime, encampments, and deteriorating infrastructure.
“This program is about pride of place,” LaFrance said in a press release. “Public art connects our community, creates joy in everyday places, and reflects who we are to each other.”
But for many residents, LaFrance’s pride and joy is harder to locate.
A drive through Anchorage today reveals sprawling tent camps, discarded needles, and boarded-up businesses, especially in areas once considered safe and vibrant. Downtown sidewalks are now flanked not just by murals and “functional animal sculptures,” but by visible signs of human dysfunction and defecation. Trails are “no go” zones, and parks are public safety hazards.
It’s a tale of two Anchorages. On one side, there will be bike racks shaped like animals and more and more murals of ravens. On the other, broken glass, human waste, and people living in tarps on public land.
Among the publicly funded art projects:
- A $30,000 “Open-Air Art Project” that will bring “cultural pop-ups” to city parks like Tikishla Park and Kiwanis Fish Creek — parks, where vandalism and safety concerns prevail.
- A $25,000 mural by artist Crystal Worl covering the side of the historic McKinley Tower with a massive image of a raven dreaming about salmon. A previous contract to Worl allowed her to paint over an existing mural that brought to life the history of Anchorage. That old mural is now gone, replaced with native images — including a raven, totem creatures, wolves, and deer.
- A $23,000 “Welcome to Anchorage” mural downtown, where fewer and fewer people willingly visit.
- A $12,000 installment of animal-shaped bike racks in Northeast Anchorage parks, where no one feels safe to visit.
- A $10,000 “Cabin Fever” outdoor gallery on a downtown construction fence, likely temporary, but maybe permanent.
While the ACDA touts these projects as “fueling partnerships that turn creativity into community growth,” the timing raises questions about the LaFrance Administration priorities, in which murals that are of questionable value take precedence over basic public health and safety.
LaFrance and her supporters declared former Mayor Dave Bronson incompetent. They convinced voters that LaFrance would make Anchorage better. Competence in LaFrance’s Anchorage is putting up visual distractions to make residents and visitors feel better after witnessing the breakdown of the social fabric of a once-vibrant city.
