Marathon Health and GANGGANG, a cultural development firm, have partnered on public art projects in Marathon Health centers in six cities.
The first mural was made in the Marathon Health office in The Olivia on 1111 Main St. in Carmel.
Indianapolis-based GANGGANG has set a goal that 75 percent of artists in every project are of color to create equity in the arts.
“We’re excited about being able to promote the power of the arts across different industries,” GANGGANG co-founder and Executive Director Mali Jeffers said. “When the arts and health care come together, we can tell a story about how hiring artists can contribute to the mental health of the public, visitors and patients that are going through the tough time that is bringing them to the health center. It’s really nice on our end to be able to pay an artist at a time when they are not getting a lot of jobs and a lot of opportunities due to the pandemic. It’s nice to be able to engage a local artist in works.
“It’s a good-sized mural, and for it to be duplicated in health centers all over the state, it’s great for our artists in the city.”
Indianapolis resident Amiah Mims, also a digital illustrator, painted the mural.
“Her design is being duplicated across all Indiana (Marathon) health centers,” Jeffers said. “She just became a full-time artist in 2021. We were introduced to Amiah in the summer of 2020. She was one of the artists who (worked on) the Black Lives Matter street mural on Indiana Avenue in downtown Indianapolis. We discovered her there, and she is phenomenal.”
Jeffers said the objective of the mural was to create for patients and staff “a feeling they were strong and resilient and that they can handle this but also offer them calm and smoothness.”
The Marathon Health in Fishers closed its former location and will reopen at 12734 Parkside Dr. in April.
Jeffers said GANGGANG will seek artists in the cities where the centers are located. The other cities are Columbus, Ohio, Cincinnati, Charlotte, N.C., Orlando, Fla., and Las Vegas.
“We wanted our health centers to be a comfortable and inviting place for our patients to come. That certainly is a priority,” Marathon Health Chief Marketing Officer Shelly Towns said. “We are big believers in art as a representation of balance between (the) mind and physical and mental health. We were really impressed by GANGGANG and some of the work they’ve done, certainly in Indy. They’ve had such a great impact on the community. We reached out to them and came up with the mural idea.”
For more, visit ganggangculture.com.
