WNMU President Dr. Joseph Shepard addresses the crowd at the dedication of "Once Upon a Time," a new mural at the WNMU Child Development Center, August 15, 2024. The mural was created by students in the Youth Mural Program, led by artist Diana Ingalls Leyba. Photo Courtesy of WNMU.SILVER CITY, NM - Western New Mexico University and the Youth Mural Program dedicated a new mural at the Child Development Center on campus Thursday, August 15, 2024. The mural, titled "Once Upon a Time," has been in progress since 2021.

The Child Development Center is part of the New Mexico Center of Excellence for Early Childhood Education. The center received its legislative distinction for having developed a full-service center that has been providing early childhood and family services for decades.

The Youth Mural Program, led by artist Diana Ingalls Leyba, is a visually dynamic program that engages young people and teaches them about the history and culture of their community, while providing artistic jewels throughout the area. The program has been a huge success, with over 80 murals created on the sides of buildings, on the risers of high sidewalks, and on long-blocked-in windows in Silver City, Gila, Bayard, and Santa Clara.

"Once Upon a Time" was designed by Aldo Leopold Charter School students in the Youth Conservation Corps. The mural depicts a number of scenes from various children's books and stories, as well as quotations about childhood.

WNMU President Joseph Shepard began the dedication by talking about childhood and imagination. "Early childhood education is very important to those of us at Western New Mexico University," he said, "Today we are here to celebrate with this mural."

Shepard also commended Ingalls Leyba for her work with the Youth Mural Program. "She is a doer," he said, "She believes in making things better than how she found them."

Ingalls Leyba explained that the mural took several years to complete—years that included the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. "Some of the design was on computer, on Zoom," she said, "It was challenging in many ways."

The CDC mural, "Once Upon a Time," was designed and mostly-executed by the Aldo Leopold YCC Mural Crew. Facilitating artists were Diana Ingalls Leyba, Jess DeMoss, Erika Burleigh, and Teja Clark. On the north, west and east sides of the building, there are images and quotes from popular stories and fairytales, nursery rhymes and children’s songs.  Characters from books are depicted, favorite children’s titles fill a bookshelf, an Alice in Wonderland-inspired tea party prominently-graces the street-facing elevation, handprints grace planters. The wall insets and large planter have mosaic inspirational quotes about children.  Imagination is a key theme in this mural which promotes the transformative nature of reading and stories.

Leyba introduced one of the students that worked on the mural, Mia Estrada, who is now an art major at UNM. Estrada participated in YCC every year in high school, and she said that working on the mural inspired a lasting passion for the arts. "It is so satisfying to see this finally done," she said of the mural.

"Once Upon a Time" can be viewed at Sechler-Rhodes Hall, 513 W 12th St., Silver City, NM.

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Since 1893, Western New Mexico University has served the people in its region as a comprehensive, rural, public body. As a Hispanic-Serving Institution and the state's only public Applied Liberal Arts and Sciences university, WNMU is committed to developing cross-cultural opportunities that encourage people to explore new experiences. The WNMU student body represents every segment of southwest New Mexico's diverse population.