While progress is being hampered on multiple fronts, opportunities still exist for artists to make a difference in cities while fostering belonging instead of exclusion. That’s the case we’ll hear in this episode of the Next City podcast.

We’ll hear from the co-editor of the “Routledge Handbook of Urban Cultural Planning,” Jason Schupbach, who interviews the former chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson — who argues for utilizing the arts even during times of urgency.

“The profound impact of the arts has so many manifestations,” says Jackson. “And one of them, I think, is a precondition for everything else — and that is the ability for us to see the humanity in each other. The arts help us do that. I contend that if we can't see the humanity in each other, none of the other policies matter.”

Schupbach, who is also the Dean of the Westphal College of Media Arts and Design at Drexel University, will ask about exemplary work that was funded by the NEA, the need for more “cultural kitchens,” and more. The complete, unedited conversation was first broadcast as a Next City webinar, “Why the Arts Are Vital For Healthy Communities.” Listen to the episode below or subscribe to the Next City podcast on Apple, Spotify or Goodpods.

This post was originally published on Next City.