Top 40 Most Vibrant Arts Communities in America, 2018, Include Both Austin and Fredericksburg, According to SMU
Excerpts from the annual report of SMU's National Center for Arts Research:
Of large metropollitan areas:
While Austin – Round Rock, TX, may be well-known for its music and filmmaking scenes, it also has a robust, multifaceted arts scene marked by a collaborative “DIY ethos” that includes a cutting-edge theatre community, a burgeoning visual arts scene, and emerging art/tech intersections. Billed as the “Live Music Capital of the World,” Austin has more than 250 live venues that fill the city with music every night of the week and is a magnet for young musicians and audiences. Austin is also a festival town with long-running annual events such as Austin City Limits, South by Southwest, Austin Film Festival, Fusebox Festival, Texas Book Festival, and cultural celebrations like Dia de los Muertos.
Austin’s experimental theatre may be in part due to the widely regarded Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas (UT) with its focus on playwriting and screenwriting, as well as innovative productions by the Rude Mechs collective, The Vortex theater, and Spanish-speaking Proyecto Teatro. Museums like UT’s Blanton Museum of Art, one of the largest university art museums in the U.S., and The Contemporary Austin, Mexic-Arte Museum (the Official Mexican and Mexican American Museum in the Southwest), and the East Austin Studio Tour (E.A.S.T.), amongst others, have nurtured the rising visual arts scene. While Austin is home to the Long Center for the Performing Arts with its resident companies Austin Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Austin, and Austin Lyric Opera, Austin is also home to cultural facilities that serve as gathering places for the African American, Latinx, and Asian communities. Despite Austin being the 11th largest city in the nation, the majority of arts organizations are small -- only 20 or so have budgets exceeding $1 million -- but the dynamism of the city’s arts organizations is reflected in the attraction of high numbers of state and federal government grants. The Cultural Arts Division of the City’s Economic Development Department provides leadership and management for Austin’s cultural arts programs and for the economic development of arts and cultural industries. They regularly partner with various organizations and communities on creative placemaking grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additionally, the large number of arts, culture, and entertainment firms and independent artists per capita leads to an Arts Providers score in the top 4% of all cities. With Austin’s strength also in technology, it is not surprising to learn Austin has achieved the distinction of being the first (and only) city in the U.S. to receive a “City of Media Arts” designation within UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network.
Of "micropolises":
Located in the Texas Hill Country, the Fredericksburg, TX, MSA prides itself on being an American art destination. Artists have long been attracted by the expansive landscape, and this continues even today thanks in part to the lively social scene including renowned local wines and culinary creations. Many of Fredericksburg’s numerous galleries participate in the city’s celebrated First Friday Artwalk. Fredericksburg ranks 10th in independent artists per capita, and is in the top 2% of communities in most other Arts Provider measures. It is home to the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, the National Museum of the Pacific War, and the Sculpture Ranch and Galleries. Fredericksburg and nearby Luckenbach, Texas, also have a thriving live music tradition. The area is home to well-known country, folk, rock, bluegrass, and blues venues including Luckenbach, Hondo’s on Main, Crossroads Saloon and Steakhouse, and Pat’s Hall. There is an annual Hill Country Wine and Music Festival, and the local wineries feature live music on pleasant weekend afternoons. The summer months in particular call for several live music events, such as the live Roots Music Concerts presented by the Pioneer Museum. The Fredericksburg Theater Company, Hill Country Film Festival, and Rockbox Theater round out the arts scene.