Top U.S. arts city winners

American Style Magazine has announced the winners of its 10th annual Top 25 Arts Destinations readers’ poll.

The thing I like most about this list is that it divides city lists into three categories by population so that Santa Fe (winner of the small city category), for example, doesn’t have to compete with New York City (winner of the big city category). This format embraces the diversity of location in which art thrives, and jives with the fact that artists are often priced out of expensive major cities but find plenty of interest and support in smaller places.

Short summaries offer an overview of the art scene for the top three cities in each category. For instance, you can find out that Baltimore, winner in the mid-sized city category, focuses its artistic efforts on glass and museums; and that Chicago rocks the public art space.

The top three in each category are:

• Big city: New York, Chicago, San Francisco
• Mid-size city: Pittsburgh, Albuquerque, Las Vegas
• Small city: Santa Fe, Sedona, Key West