Arts and culture are fundamental to the vitality and well-being of our cities, towns and villages. The arts can inspire, heal and help our communities grow. NLC helps local leaders to leverage the power of the arts to improve the health, cohesion and resilience of their communities.
To showcase the amazing ways cities across America have used the arts as a tool for public health, NLC produced the Creative Cities video series. It profiles three communities: Loveland, CO; Providence, RI; and Tampa, FL.
In Loveland, they’ve created a partnership between the city-operated museum and local group of stroke survivors who prove that a healthy city is a creative one. NLC met with Mayor Jacki Marsh of Loveland to discuss how her health journey led her to art and shaped her leadership. Mayor Marsh was a decorated athlete with sights set on making the United States Olympic Team until a diagnosis of heart disease pushed her down an artistic path.
National League of Cities: How does your story relate to art?
Mayor Jacki Marsh: Prior to heart disease, if anybody asked me “Are you an artist?” I would say “I don’t have an artistic bone in my body.” Stick figures as a kid, no talent. And then life changes…and it wasn’t a journey that happened overnight.
At the age of 30, I got my first pacemaker, and life kind of came to a screeching halt. When you experience catastrophic change, especially due to illness, your image of yourself, that image of yourself you had on Monday is no longer valid on Tuesday. It is devastating…but if you’re going to move forward, if you’re going to stay engaged in this life, you have to find a path where you’re going to have joy, where you’re going to have hope, where you’re going to see a future and where you contribute, where you have purpose.
For me, art was that shining light that showed me a path…after [moving to Loveland], I ended up opening an art gallery, and within a short period of time, I had over 100 local artists.
NLC: Why is it so important to support programs like this for your residents?
Mayor Marsh: A few years ago, one of our employees did some research and it showed that Loveland has more artists per capita than any city in the country. And yet I think we’re kind of the best-kept secret. We have a huge variety of art, all kinds of mediums. Whether it’s metal art, stonework, bronze paintings or murals, everywhere you go in Loveland you see art. Artists are always looking for places to show their work in Loveland.
This particular program is helping people deal with probably one of the most, if not the most, difficult times in their lives. When they’ve been stripped of their normal, every day pleasures, when they’re having to come back and find a new life, a new path forward — to have a program that is welcoming, inviting and allows them to explore a part of themselves that they’ve probably never taken the time to explore is so important. It gives them a new image and a new self-worth.
NLC: What would you say to those other city leaders who haven’t quite gotten on board yet?
Mayor Marsh: It could be an economic driver. But it’s also about your quality of life. It’s irreplaceable. The sculpture that’s at the corner, that mural that’s on the wall that lifts spirits; it’s a sense of community that I think every resident in Loveland feels and appreciates. I’m part of this art community, and I think it makes us better. Art is expressing your human soul…it’s part of our community, and it’s a part that our residents love and identify with.
NLC: How do you feel art impacts a community’s health?
Mayor Marsh: It is a sign of a healthy community to have art, to value art. To say that everything isn’t about a fast-paced, nonstop world, that we can take the time to slow down. We’re talking a lot about visual arts, but we have poets, we have authors. And you have breweries, you have restaurants. We have art in so many different forms in this city, and it’s all about human expression and the community slowing down and appreciating it. Because you have to slow down and you have to put all those worldly concerns aside, and you just have to sit with the art. And it’s an amazing thing when you can do that. You’ll know peace that you’ve never known.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Celebrate National Arts & Health Day
Join NLC in celebrating National Arts & Health Day on Saturday, July 26, by highlighting how the arts contribute to the wellbeing of your community. Proclaim the 26th as National Arts & Health Day in your city, town or village and then join the conversation on social media by showing off artwork from your hometown with the official National Arts & Health Day social frame. Download the proclamation template and social media graphics now and get ready to celebrate!
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