Edwards named no. 1 most arts-vibrant small community in the US

The National Center for Arts released its fourth annual list of most arts-vibrant cities in the U.S., and Edwards landed at the top spot for the small community category (10,000-50,000 people).

After being ranked in 2016, Edwards fell off the list in 2017 before making a prominent return in 2018.

“Arts vibrancy is dynamic, not static,” said Zannie Voss, director of the National Center for Arts. “New communities made the list, and there is some reshuffling among communities that made the list in previous years.”

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Celebrate the Arts

The annual index ranks more than 900 communities across the country, looking at level of supply, demand and government support for the arts in each city and town.

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This year, more than 20 percent of the communities on the most-vibrant list appear for the first time.

“Arts and cultural organizations are well distributed across the country,” Voss said. “Today’s climate of uncertainty makes it more important than ever to acknowledge and celebrate the essential role that arts and culture play in making communities throughout the country more vibrant places to live and visit.”

Among the cities with populations of 1 million or more, Redwood City, California, claimed the top spot. For the category of cities with populations of 100,000 to 1 million, Santa Fe, New Mexico, was named No. 1.

For the small cities category that Edwards was atop, Jackson, Wyoming, was second; Summit Park in Utah was third; Hood River in Oregon was fourth; and Durango was fifth.

For more information, visit the National Center for Arts website at smu.edu/artsresearch.