By Dina Weinstein

A bright, colorful image of nature and symbols of hope in the ground level valet parking deck area of VCU Health’s Adult Outpatient Pavilion now provides flashes of positivity for those dealing with serious health challenges.

The new 12’ tall x 30’ wide mural entitled “The Meadowlarks Journey” features a yellow meadowlark holding a flowing lavender ribbon in its beak flying by red, yellow, and purple flowers, against the backdrop of a bright blue sky dotted with white clouds.

The painting is the work of Richmond-based muralist Nico Cathcart who was invited in by the VCU Health’s Arts in Healthcare program to bring her iconically realistic and uplifting style to a previously dark garage for people accessing and being treated at the Adult Outpatient Pavilion, where the first six floors house clinics for the VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The mural’s message is personal.

“That ribbon is lavender, which is the ‘all cancer’ ribbon. The flowers are plants I photographed at the [Lewis] Ginter Botanical Garden which are the colors of the cancer ribbons, but there's so many of them, because, unfortunately, cancer is a very pervasive problem,” Cathcart said. “We decided to use that ribbon as a unifying thing and one that represents everybody that's walking through these doors.”

To Cathcart, birds are hopeful symbols she places in her hundreds of murals around Richmond, and beyond.
“Personally, in my own narrative, I use them a lot to talk about my hearing loss because I can't hear them,” Cathcart said. “Birds are something I paint a lot. They give you a sense of freedom and a sense of uplift, which is more than anything with this artwork, what I wanted to make sure happened.”

Video by Taylor MacKillop, Enterprise Marketing and Communications

“The Meadowlarks Journey” was particularly poignant for Cathcart because she herself was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center's thyroid cancer care philosophy combines compassion with leading expertise to address a disease that is the most common endocrine cancer, affecting over 40,000 people annually in the U.S. and nearly three times more women than men,” Amelia Grover, M.D., Cathcart’s surgical oncologist, said.

Thyroid cancer often strikes at a younger age than most other adult cancers, with an average diagnosis age of 51 and many cases occurring in women in their 20s to 50s. The multidisciplinary thyroid cancer clinic at Massey provides coordinated care for adults as well as children.

“We understand the unique challenges this poses, including concerns about long-term health and life disruptions. For adults, our multidisciplinary team provides high-quality surgery performed by high-volume surgeons, along with advanced diagnostics and targeted therapies to achieve the best outcomes,” Grover said. “Clear communication and patient-centered decision-making empowers individuals throughout their care journey, helping patients maintain fulfilling, high-quality lives.”

It is patients like [Nico] who fuel our dedication and remind us of the impact that compassion, resilience, and creativity have in the healing journey.

Amelia Grover, M.D., a surgical oncologist at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center

Cathcart’s diagnosis was particularly challenging for her because as a deaf person, the need for masks during the pandemic prevented her from lip reading. These challenges made her medical situation particularly stressful.

But, seeing her fellow Richmond artists’ work on the walls during her doctors’ visits gave her hope.

Like a meadowlark at dawn, artwork can bring hope to patients

The Arts in Healthcare program’s mission is to create a healing environment for patients, visitors and team members through the arts. That includes live music, visual arts, music therapy and art therapy. Arts in Healthcare also supports the VCU Health Orchestra and wind ensemble that provides an artistic outlet to nurses, doctors, staff and medical students. Over the past 40 years, the program has displayed its art collection across 48 buildings with more than 2,000 originals done by mostly local artists. Two other murals are currently going up at VCU Health, one in the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU and one in the Virginia Treatment Center.

“We always wanted something in the garage before we opened,” said Alexis Shockley, manager of Arts in Healthcare. “The sterileness of this space was starting to really affect people. This is a first impact space; this is the first thing you see when you come in here. You're scared, you're worried, you're sad. So, we wanted the mural to transform this space. It became top priority to the Massey leadership team.”

Nico Cathcart worked on the mural for about a week in November. The flowers she painted are based on photographs she took at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. (Sara McCloskey, Enterprise Marketing and Communications) 

Shockley thought of Cathcart to execute the transformation of the grey wall, because the muralist’s work is known as organic, positive, joyful, and hopeful. Shockley didn’t know that Cathcart had been a patient at Massey.

“In this space, you want people to feel hopeful,” Shockley said. “You want patients to know that though they may feel like they're losing hope, there's still room to grow. So that's the images of the flowers, the joyfulness. It's just beautiful work.”

Between diagnosis and treatment, artist finds comfort in the colorful halls of the hospital

Cathcart said her thyroid cancer was caught by her general practitioner and, while her experience being treated at Massey was initially scary, since she was dealing with health scare during a pandemic, but it had a positive outcome.

“My endocrinologist here is amazing. The doctors extended my life, so I'm very grateful,” Cathcart said.

Angeliki Stamatouli, M.D., Cathcart’s endocrinologist, said she tells her patients most thyroid cancers have a good prognosis and are highly curable, if caught early.

“Independent of the stage at diagnosis, the providers involved in patients' care should take the time to explain the risks and benefits of treatment and allow patients the opportunity to be involved in the decision-making process. Every patient should feel comfortable and understand their treatment plan,” Stamatouli said. “Our visit always ends with a smile on her face which is reflected on her mural. She's one of my favorite patients."

As someone who's been a local artist in Richmond for many, many years, the halls were kind of filled with my buddies... It always was really comforting to me when I was having an overwhelming moment. I want to make sure that the moment I had with [the bird] painting happens for someone walking in or walking out of this.

Nico Cathcart, muralist and thyroid cancer survivor

Stamatouli said she admires Cathcart for her positive attitude when she faces difficult challenges.

“Nico is amazing,” said Grover, who is also a professor in the VCU Division of Surgical Oncology and interim senior associate dean of the Office of Faculty Affairs and Development at VCU School of Medicine. “She embodies the resilience and spirit that reminds me why I chose this profession. Her artwork beautifully reflects her uplifting spirit. I think her work will bring hope and joy to others, creating a ripple of positivity that touches both patients and caregivers alike. It is patients like her who fuel our dedication and remind us of the impact that compassion, resilience, and creativity have in the healing journey.”

As a deaf person, who emerged from her surgery to remove her thyroid to masked health care professionals, she was terrified that in the confused state coming out of anesthesia, she would not be able to hear and understand them. The nurses, Cathcart said, were attentive to her needs and made sure that she had her hearing aids in. She returns regularly to Massey a few times a year to make sure the cancer does not return.

While thyroid cancer is generally treated by quickly removing the thyroid, Cathcart recognizes her body would slowly shut down without continuing to take the correct thyroid pills keeping her levels in check.

During her treatment and follow up visits, the art in the Adult Outpatient Pavilion has had a particular impact on Cathcart. Walking through buildings with Shockley to learn more about the Arts in Healthcare program before starting the mural brought back the memories of what it felt like to be there as a patient in those first scary weeks of her diagnosis and treatment.

“As someone who's been a local artist in Richmond for many, many years, the halls were kind of filled with my buddies, which was really cool to me,” Cathcart said. “If you go up to the fourth floor, right by the check in area, there's a bird from Noah Scalin’s “Audubon” series. It always was really comforting to me when I was having an overwhelming moment. I want to make sure that the moment I had with Noah's painting happens for someone walking in or walking out of this.”

The new 12’ tall x 30’ wide mural, called “The Meadowlarks Journey,” is located in the parking area near the entrance to VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center’s clinic space. (Mia Stephens, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

During a break in painting the mural Cathcart said, “The art in this hospital makes an impact on the patient level, in ways that you can't even imagine.”

Patients and clinical staff walking by, looking over the mural in progress agreed, often exclaiming: “Wow! Cool! Awesome!”

Cathcart was already up on the lift focused on painting the meadowlark in flight, her music blasting in her headphones.