Thanks to hundreds of volunteers the Hope Wall is going up in downtown Anchorage

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - What was once a plain wall at the corner of 7th Avenue and E Street is now slowly becoming a beautiful work of art.

Steve Gordon and his dream team of volunteer painters are almost halfway done putting up the squares of colorful art that will be the Hope Wall.

“It was something that we could do in a pandemic in a safe way, but kind of tapping into what community is all about, and that’s the coming together,” Gordon said.

In total there are 70 squares that will be attached to the wall to make his artwork become a reality. This was able to become a reality with the help of over 500 people who met in Town Square last month to help paint each square in a paint-by-numbers art piece.

“It’s good to be reminded of the things that are going to anchor you because hope is something that is a constant assurance of things will be better,” Gordon said.

Once a square goes up, Gordon and his dream team go back through and do little touchups to make sure every square is filled in correctly, and this process takes about 20-30 minutes per square.

Cheryl Moon is one of the volunteers on the team and she said she has loved being part of this project.

“It’s such a beautiful contribution,” she said. “... I love art, I love color, I love working with Steve Gordon. It’s just a wonderful way to give back to your community, while also doing something that you thoroughly enjoy.”

Gordon said that while the rainy weather makes it hard to work on the mural, this week they plan to use every day they can to get the mural up.

According to Gordon, they are working to have the project completed by the first Friday in October, which is on Oct. 1.

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