In this episode of the Leading Ladies of Economic Development podcast, we welcome Rachael Parker, ArtsWave director for Northern Kentucky creative placemaking, to discuss how arts and culture strengthen communities and drive economic development. Parker shares her background as a fiber artist, arts educator, and nonprofit leader, and explains ArtsWave’s nearly 100-year legacy as the nation’s first and largest arts fund, which has granted over $350 million and recently awarded 165 grants to 150+ organizations.
She defines creative placemaking as cross-sector, community-driven work that integrates arts, culture, and design to advance equitable economic, physical, and social change, and challenges the misconception that arts lack impact, citing a $1.6 BILLION regional arts impact and a $42 return per $1 ArtsWave investment.
Rachael highlights some examples including Northern Kentucky placemaking grants, Newport’s historic mural ordinance and Orchard Street Project, and arts integration in Covington’s CCR redevelopment and Florence’s planned sculpture park (check out the resources and links below).
In this episode, we explore:
- Rachel Parker’s journey—from fiber artist and educator to nonprofit leader—highlights how creative careers can evolve into community-shaping roles that bridge art, strategy, and regional development.
- How creative placemaking blends arts, culture, and community collaboration to spark equitable economic and social change, transforming projects like Newport murals, Covington redevelopment, and Florence’s future sculpture park.
- With nearly a century of impact, how ArtsWave has invested over $350M into the region—supporting 150+ organizations and demonstrating how the arts strengthen identity, community, and local development.
*Quotable: * “ It is certainly not fluff. It is of vital importance to the success of our communities that we have a creative economy.”
Resources and Links
Connect with Rachael Parker on LinkedIn
Engineering a creative renaissance in Northern Kentucky
New grant program is fueling the arts and boosting economic development in Northern Kentucky
ArtsWave, meetNKY award $58K for creative placemaking projects
Local arts organization announces artist-in-residence program
City of Covington Launches New Interactive Project Showcasing 100+ Public Art Installations