Vineyard Haven was ranked No. 10 on a list of the top 10 most arts-vibrant small cities in the country, according to Nancy Gardella, executive director of Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce and Tourism. The National Center for Arts Research (NCAR) at Southern Methodist University in Texas released its third annual Arts Vibrancy Index, ranking more than 900 communities across the U.S.
“In the current climate, it is more important than ever to recognize the vital role that the arts play in creating dynamic places to live, work, and visit, and the Arts Vibrancy Index shows us that this is the case in communities all across the country, not just in large cities and on the coasts,” said Dr. Zannie Giraud Voss, director of NCAR, said in an announcement from NCAR. “The index helps us understand what factors contribute to making an urban area artistically vibrant and culturally rich, and illustrates how vibrancy manifests in a wide variety of forms that are often tied to that community’s unique identity.”
The top five small cities — defined as having a population under 100,000 and an urban core between 10,000 and 50,000 — includes Breckenridge, Colo., at No. 1; Summit Park, Utah; Bennington, Vt.; Bozeman, Mont.; and Hudson, N.Y.
For cities with populations of 1 million or more, the area of Washington, D.C., which includes Arlington, Va., and Alexandria, Md., placed No. 1. Boston was ranked No. 6.
The overall index is made up of three dimensions: supply, demand, and government support of the arts.
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