Ever Wonder Who Gets to Paint Boise’s Freak Alley And Who Decides What Goes?

Not long after we moved to Idaho, somebody told me there was this place in Downtown Boise called Freak Alley.

Freak Alley? Come on... With a name like that, of course I had to see it.

So we loaded up the kids and headed downtown to check it out. I remember thinking it was one of the coolest and quirkiest things I’d discovered about our new hometown.

It was an alley. An actual working alley. But instead of blank brick walls, almost everything around you had become a canvas.

Cory Mikhals- Townsquare Media Boise

There were huge murals, little pieces tucked around doors and pipes, strange characters, beautiful portraits, graffiti-inspired artwork and things that I wasn’t entirely sure what they were supposed to be, but I liked them anyway.

One of the coolest things about Freak Alley is that the Freak Alley you see today isn’t necessarily the Freak Alley you’ll see a few years from now.

Freak Alley Has Been Changing Since 2002

Freak Alley started in 2002, the same year my family and I moved to Idaho.

According to Freak Alley, local artist Colby Akers created the first drawing on the back-alley doorway of what was then Moon’s Cafe. From that single doorway, the artwork gradually spread through the alley. Today, Freak Alley describes itself as the Northwest’s largest open-air, multi-artist mural gallery.

It’s tucked between 8th and 9th and Bannock and Idaho streets, and the outdoor gallery is always open.

Cory Mikhals- Townsquare Media Boise

Over the years, I’ve taken the family back numerous times. Part of the fun has always been discovering what changed.  You remember a mural that used to be in a certain spot, only to find something completely different there the next time.

At first, there’s a little disappointment.  “Aw, man! I loved that one!”  Then you start looking at what replaced it and discover another artist you might never have seen otherwise.

A Quick Walk During FitOne Turned Into a Trip Down Memory Lane

I hadn’t walked all the way through Freak Alley in probably a couple of years.  While I was downtown for FitOne, I had a little downtime after we’d sent off the half-marathon and 10K runners. Freak Alley was right there, so I decided to take a walk.

Some pieces were completely new to me. Others made me stop and think, Wait a minute. Hasn’t that been here forever?

Cory Mikhals- Townsquare Media Boise

There are paintings that are beginning to show their age. Paint has faded. Brick is starting to show through. Other pieces look much newer.

That got me wondering about who decides what stays, what gets painted over and who gets to paint Freak Alley next?

Could You Be the Next Freak Alley Artist?

Possibly.  Freak Alley currently has an application for people interested in becoming participating artists. The official site simply says applying is easy and provides an application link.

⁠Apply to Become a Freak Alley Gallery Artist

Its current artist agreement says the amount of time a particular work remains on display is determined by Freak Alley and the property owner. While an approved piece is displayed, its artist is allowed to touch it up. The agreement also makes clear that participation is voluntary and artists aren’t compensated simply for installing their work.

So that mural you absolutely love?  Take a picture.  It may be there for years, but there’s no guarantee it’ll be there forever.

Freak Alley says artists add new work every year, and its summer painting event gives artists and community members an opportunity to be part of the gallery as it transforms.

Cory Mikhals- Townsquare Media Boise

Maybe That’s Why Freak Alley Works

We’re so accustomed to thinking about art as something that’s supposed to be protected and preserved. Put it behind glass, hang a little plaque beside it and don’t touch it.

Freak Alley is different.  It gets older and weathered.  It changes.  One artist gets a wall for a while, and eventually that wall may become somebody else’s canvas.

And after walking through again, I think that’s what I’ve loved about this place since that first trip with the kids more than two decades ago.

Cory Mikhals- Townsquare Media Boise

It’s a celebration of artists, but it’s also a celebration of new artists getting their turn.

That’s why I’m glad I took so many pictures this time.  These aren’t simply pictures of Freak Alley, they’re pictures of what Freak Alley looked like on this particular day in 2026.

Come back a few years from now and some of these pieces may still be exactly where they are. Others may have weathered a little more and somewhere on these walls, an artist whose name we don’t know yet may have created something completely new.

That’s pretty freaking cool.