McKinley Care receives Municipality of Anchorage grant to promote community and color downtown: Beyond Beige Art Program

In late July, Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance announced the list of recipients for the city’s first Beyond the Beige grants. In conjunction with the Anchorage Community Development Authority, the initiative selected five local projects, most of which are the result of partnerships between two or more community entities, to receive funding totaling $100,000, awarded jointly by ACDA and the Municipality. These projects embody the spirit of Beyond the Beige by enhancing the vibrancy and appeal of these shared spaces throughout the Anchorage community. 

McKinley Care Assisted Living is proud to be an awardee, receiving $25,000 for gifted Tlingit/Athabascan artist Crystal Worl to create “Raven Dreams of a Salmon Return," a large-scale mural on the south face of the historic McKinley Tower. At over 27 feet high and 41 feet wide, this mural will transform a prominent downtown wall into a vibrant work of public art, showcasing the raven, one of Alaska's most legendary creatures. 

The Beyond Beige Art Program

The Beyond the Beige art program is a long-term investment in Anchorage's visual identity, public gathering spaces, and creative economy. By encouraging collaboration among artists, nonprofits, neighborhoods, and civic institutions, the initiative supports a more connected and vibrant Anchorage. In the case of McKinley Care Assisted Living, the grant award is a visual reminder of community and a nod to the importance of sharing Anchorage’s cultural and historical stories. 

Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance

“This mural embodies McKinley Care’s mission to create an affordable, welcoming home for Alaskans needing assisted living care, while adding a striking celebration of Alaska Native heritage to the heart of downtown Anchorage. We hope Crystal Worl’s design will help transform our corner of downtown into a place of beauty, pride, and welcome for all,” said Jack Pomerantz, McKinley Care’s Medical Director. 

The tentative timeline for the mural project is thus: 

• December 2025: Complete final drawings for printing of mural cloth  

• January-March 2026: Printing of mural cloth

• June-August 2026:  Painting and installation begin

Crystal Kaakeeyáa Rose Demientieff Worl is Athabascan, Filipino, and Tlingit from Raven moiety, Sockeye Clan, from the Raven House. She is Deg Hit’an Athabascan from Fairbanks Alaska. Crystal is a talented multidisciplinary artist based in Juneau, Alaska. Drawing her inspiration from both the natural world and the culture of Tlingit and Athabascan roots, Worl’s work crosses many spectrums of style and locations, including other projects in the downtown Anchorage area. She was also the selected artist for Alaska Airlines’ signature jet, Xáat Kwáani (Salmon People); the first aircraft in the history of any domestic airline to be named in an Alaska Native language and to depict the ancestral importance through Northwest Coast formline art. 

Worl’s work also often explores themes of identity, connection to land, and the interplay between traditional and modern ways of life, and she is an involved advocate for indigenous rights, striving for awareness and understanding through the visual arts. Crystal Worl lives and works in Juneau, co-owner and co-designer of Trickster Company with her brother, Rico. 

Residents and the greater Anchorage community alike will be able to view the mural’s progress as Worl paints using traditional formline style from her Tlingit and Athabascan heritage, and we’ll be posting regular updates as the project takes shape. 

Learn more about the Beyond the Beige grant program and the other grant awardees here.