Cedar City youth unveil mural symbolizing growth and kindness

CEDAR CITY — An injured bear sitting in the cold of winter. A fox looking on, knowing that when winter turns to spring, warmth will come, scars will fade and strength will come back.

That's what youth at the Southwest Utah Youth Center in Cedar City depicted in one of two murals unveiled at the center Tuesday.

The murals, along with other projects and kindness challenges, were spearheaded by Utah-based nonprofit, One Kind Act A Day, which works to create a "culture of kindness" within communities through educational partnerships and community and programs.

Over several weeks, the center, in partnership with One Kind Act A Day, had daily discussions, videos, journaling, and service projects helping individuals in hospice, as well as serving many experiencing homelessness.

The mural was aimed to both beautify the center and serve as a way for the youth to represent their journey and what they hope to become.

"This is probably our sixth mural project we've done with One Kind Act, and every single one of them has been very impactful to the youth," said director of Juvenile Justice and Youth Services, April Graham. "Kids get to see themselves in a different light. They get a lot of opportunity to give feedback for the mural and actually help paint the mural at the end of the curriculum."

Muralist Kimber Cottam worked closely with the youth to decide what to create, and she said that each member of the youth at the center had a part in creating the complete designs.

"The mural tells a story," Cottam explained. "There's a bear that has some scarring and it's on the wintry side of the mural. They wanted something to represent the hard stuff that they've been through. We also have a fox that serves as a guide.

"Then it starts to turn to spring," she continued. "We've got the muddiness turning it into the new grass of the spring and we have our bear with the same scars healed coming out of his den and moving toward the nature and we have other bears enjoying spring and water and all of the good stuff."

Cottam explained that while painting the mural, one youth made a profound statement that was added to the painting.

"'If you could be anything in this world, be kind' — that was a direct quote from one of the kids when we were doing our brainstorm," Cottam said, pointing to another phrase present on the painting: "Not all those who wander are lost."

"They've been to a lot of places, and it takes a long time to get where you're going, but it's not time wasted," Cottam said. "They really wanted to have a mural based on growth and that just because they've been through struggles, doesn't mean that they can't come out better on the other side."

Cottom also spoke about the eagles symbolizing freedom and the bear facing toward the exit at the facility, also symbolizing being able to be out in the world following their time at the center.

One Kind Act A Day executive director Mason Bennett, who was present at the mural unveiling, said that his organization's initiative is more than painting murals, but about building "kindness communities."

"One Kind Act A Day is all about creating kindness communities," Bennet said. "A lot of these youth might not feel like kindness is a strategy that they can use in an environment like this. And it's really important to show them that the best way to live our life is with kindness. ... So it's really important to provide some service opportunities and programs and ways for these kids to learn good strategies to be kind."

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