New downtown bear cans to feature local artist’s design
Local artist Crystal Jackson’s painting of bears frolicking on a rainbow background is the winning artwork in a contest to decorate 44 new bear cans in downtown Juneau.
The design features three panels of black bears eating, playing and climbing trees.
“I wanted to capture different personalities, like the playful, like laziness of the one that’s kind of laying on his backside, rolling around,” Jackson said during the unveiling of the design at the Elizabeth Peratrovich Plaza Tuesday. “We’ve got one with you know keeping wild — eat fish, not trash, kind of thing.”
The contest is a partnership between the City and Borough of Juneau, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. It was first announced in December and voting opened for three finalist designs in March.
Jackson also gets a cash reward for the contest: $7,000 dollars to the artist, $3,000 to a nonprofit of their choice. Jackson chose NAMI Juneau, where she volunteers. She said she’s happy to be a part of anything to help keep Juneau’s bears safe.
When bears get into trash, they learn to turn to garbage and people for food, which can make them dangerous. The state has to euthanize bears that become aggressive while looking for food in city streets and neighborhoods.
Fish and Game’s Abby McAllister attributes the recent bear activity to humans not properly securing our garbage.
“It’s truly our fault,” she said. “It is, and until we start doing a better job, we will continue to see these problems show up and these bears coming into town.”
Recent social media videos have shown multiple black bears throughout Juneau and one inside a downtown hotel.
The new cans are bear-resistant, and easier for humans to open than the ones currently downtown. The new design will also be featured on a larger waste enclosure near the cruise docks as well.