In researching and musing on the history and current reality of the modern YMCA/YWCA what came out most for me was the fundamental placement of nurturing human relationships. Relationships coming in a myriad of positive incarnations; between infants and caregivers, mentorship from the adult to the child, reaching out to those at risk and on the streets and in poverty and supporting individuals to grow physically, mentally and spiritually to make their lives and the lives of their families and communities better. These relationships develop between strangers and new friends and immigrants. They grow in the Y buildings, at their wilderness and city camps and between people met on a street corner. Relationships flow through the core of what the YMCA/YWCA has been and is. This is what the mural proposal presented to you represents.

 

   The images within this design reflect and symbolize the relationships discussed above. Connecting all of the figures is a swirl of water which represents the way our actions and empathy bind us together and help us forward. Being on the edge of the Bay of Fundy and the Reversing Falls, the water also connects this YMCA/YWCA to the Saint John area specifically.