Salt Lake City Named "Top Arts Destination"

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

Contact: Nancy Boskoff, 801-596-5000
nancy.boskoff@slcgov.com

Salt Lake City Named “Top Arts Destination” by National Publication

For the fifth time in as many years, AmericanStyle magazine has named Salt Lake City as a “Top 25 Arts Destination” in the mid-sized city category: (http://www.americanstyle.com/2010/05/shaken-and-stirred/# )
Based on an annual poll, cities across the country vie for this designation, as it reflects an active creative industry, a high level quality of life and a valued travel destination.

As Salt Lakers well know, there is an active arts community here that presents and produces a wide range of arts experiences, in every discipline, year-round. The word is spreading beyond the Utah borders that not only do we have the “greatest snow on earth,” but also a surprisingly rich cultural climate. No longer a well-kept secret, the artists and arts organizations in Salt Lake provide a reason to visit in any season.

Offered to participants in the poll is a $500 travel voucher, and this year, the winner is a Salt Lake resident, John Mayfield, who noted on his ballot that “Salt Lake has a thriving contemporary art scene with young artists contributing in every style and genre . . . it’s a real hidden gem in the art world.”
The Salt Lake City Arts Council both produces such high profile arts events as the Living Traditions Festival, the Twilight Concert Series, and year-round visual arts exhibitions at the Art Barn in Reservoir Park, and supports a wide range of arts activities from professional dance companies to poetry slams to ethnic festivals and much more. In a recent report prepared by Americans for the Arts, Salt Lake City is home to 932 arts-related nonprofits and businesses that employ 7,590 people. The Salt Lake City Arts Council was recently featured in an article in NEA ARTS, the quarterly magazine of the National Endowment for the Arts (http://www.nea.gov/about/NEARTS/storyNew.php?id=05-ground&issue=2010_v1 )

First published in 1995, AmericanStyle magazine is a national arts lifestyle magazine for enthusiasts, collectors and travelers. Featuring articles on contemporary artists, galleries, arts travel and arts events, its annual “Top 25 Arts Destinations” readers’ poll has earned the magazine national recognition for being the premier arts travel and information resource.



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