OGDEN — A mural painted by seven juveniles at the Weber Valley Youth Center is intended to give a little bit of hope to those who pass through the facility’s doors for years to come.

On Thursday, the fruits of their of efforts were recognized with the unveiling of a mural titled “Watch Us Grow.”

Situated in a common area at the facility, the mural incorporates several elements, from the local mountains to inspirational quotes meant to symbolize the hopes of those who painted it.

Tracy Hart, assistant program director at Weber Valley Youth Center, told the Standard-Examiner that the youths painting the mural had a lot of help.

“It was a great partnership between multiple agencies coming together to offer youth an opportunity to have a voice and express their artistic abilities and ideas and dreams and put it on a blank wall,” she said. “It’s an inspiration every day to them — something they see daily that will hopefully continue to inspire them.”

The organizations that collaborated on the “Watch Us Grow” mural include the Weber Valley Youth Center, the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs, the Utah Division of Arts and Museums, the Utah Division of Youth Justice and Youth Services, and Ogden Contemporary Arts.

Tracy Williams, who helped to initiate the project at Weber Valley, said “Watch Us Grow” had its origins in a similar project in the region.

“We did a mural similar to this … where we worked with youth in custody and other organizers in the community with another facility — the Salt Lake Valley Detention Center,” she said. “We put together the same process where we worked together with the youth, we got their ideas, put the design together, they were part of the entire project, turned it into a mural-reveal event. It was a huge success, and then came another opportunity here in the Ogden center.”

She said the mural took about four weeks of consultation and painting.

“It was important for me not only to teach them art skills but also to teach them entrepreneurship skills if mural work is something they want to do,” she said. “Now they have the skillset to do it and they can take it and apply it in their life if that’s what they want to pursue outside.”

In addition to speeches from dignitaries, Thursday’s mural-reveal event also included a short “graduation” ceremony for the youths involved to recognize them for their efforts.

Hart said projects like this are extremely beneficial to those held at the facility.

“It gives the kids a sense of pride, a sense of ownership and a great leadership opportunity,” she said. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity to participate and for our youth to have the opportunity to participate.”

Williams said projects like this go well beyond the youth that worked on it.

“It fosters communities,” she said. “It’s an opportunity for community members to come together and be a part of a project that will uplift not only the youth, but the staff and also all of the youth that’s going to be coming in after these youth leave. It’s important because it allows youth to have a safe space where they can be themselves and where they can also develop healthy self-esteem by doing something that’s bigger than themselves, such as a project like this that will help out the next set of kids that come in.”

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