Artists have an opportunity to have their bear-themed art work depicted on trash cans in Juneau built to keep the animals out — and win a $10,000 award.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is partnering with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to host an art contest. Selected artists will have their art turned into miniature murals that will be printed on bear-resistant trash infrastructure in downtown Juneau.
Fish and Game’s Abby McAllister said this is a way to raise awareness about the risks unsecured trash creates for bears and encourage people to throw away their trash properly.
“How do we get people to use our very resistant cans downtown?” she said. “Well, let’s draw their attention to these cans with art.”
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 have become aggressive while looking for food in city streets and neighborhoods.
A press release from Norwegian Cruise Lines said panel will narrow down the entries to three finalists, and then the public will vote on the best via social media. Norwegian will award $10,000 to the person whose entry is chosen, a portion of which will go towards a local charity the artist chooses.
That design will go on an enclosure of bear-resistant cans near the cruise ship docks. Additional designs will be on new trashcans around downtown in bear hot spots. The City and Borough of Juneau is funding and installing the new canisters using cruise passenger fees allocated in fiscal year 2025.
McAllister said the current bear-resistant cans in Juneau aren’t user-friendly.
“Not everybody knows how to work it,” she said. “So I see people struggle with it for just a half second, and even that is long enough sometimes to deter folks.”
The new cans have more of a “mailbox” design, she said, where people pull open the canister, drop their trash in, and close it. She hopes that the new infrastructure will prevent more bears from getting into trash and save bear lives.
Submissions are open today, Dec. 9, through Feb. 13.
