The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America: Where to Discover Creative Communities, Fresh Air, and Affordable Living [Paperback]

John Villani (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1996

From Northport, Alabama, to Cody, Wyoming, small towns across the U.S. are being revitalized by artists. This guide to the 10 best small art towns includes information on population, economics, real estate, climate, recreation, arts organizations, and festivals. Perfect for artists looking for affordable communities that support the arts, and art lovers seeking very special vacations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The 100 Best Small Art Towns In America: Where To Discover Creative Communities, Fresh Air, And Affordable Living profiles and ranks the top towns across the country with information on population, economics, real estate, climate, recreation, and local arts organizations. Included are quotes from local artists and extended profiles on ten towns. Criteria for selection as on of the 100 best small art towns include: location, quality of life, available cultural activities, the economic impact of the arts on each town, an active local arts agency, galleries, art festivals and the opinion of artists within each community. The 100 Best Small Towns In America also includes a bonus section on the very best spots in Canada! -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: John Muir Publications; 2nd edition (June 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1562612751
• ISBN-13: 978-1562612757
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,550,254 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Villani writes about creative communities and creativity-driven individuals. His work has appeared in Art in America, Vanity Fair, The Christian Science Monitor, Art News, Urban Land, Southern Living, U.S. News & World Report, Native Peoples, Sunset, Country Home, Southern Accents, and Southwest Art.

He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and has held art sector positions such as visual arts critic of the Arizona Republic daily newspaper, and the Communications Director of the Institute of American Indian Arts, an accredited tribal college and museum of Native American art.

He's author of 'The 100 Best Art Towns in America', released in 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2005, with an updated 5th edition in 2009. Published by The Countryman Press, a division of WW Norton, this national guidebook examines small to mid-sized communities where the arts play powerful cultural, economic and development roles.

His newest book, 'Art Towns / California' is an in-depth look at 27 communities from Mount Shasta to La Jolla where artists and arts organizations have exerted profound impacts such as reshaping local economies, revitalizing small town downtowns, and improving communities' quality of life.

In researching his books he observes the successful strategies of arts organizations, educational institutions, nonprofit entities and creative entrepreneurs in establishing arts districts, rehabilitating historic buildings, building tourism, and reenergizing downtowns.

These smart and collaborative efforts are fast-tracking new ways of thinking about the arts' far-reaching potentials'including the transformations redefining communities as America's Best Art Towns.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

108 of 115 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Read With A Grain of Salt, May 29, 2000

By 

Cassandra Langer (New York City) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America: Discover Creative Communities, Fresh Air, and Affordable Living (Paperback)

John Villani's The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America is essentially a once over lightly and don't take it to heart book. The demographic information is interesting but the economics and information on the "small" "art" towns in America is highly problematic. First off--I don't know too many real artists who can afford $200,000 for a shack with a view or even the $150,000 he posits as bottom line living. We need a reality check here. What he lists as "art" is mind boggling everything from beer fests to bakeouts. He misses entirely the poetry festival in Bisbee and does no rating at all of the quality of the art produced or carried by these galleries. His profiles are without depth and don't give you any real insights into how it might be to really live in most of these towns as a working artist. If you are retired, have a good income, etc. you might be able to use this as a first step but after that you are on your own. I went into the realestate net and found prices on various places that contrast with his, I am an arts person so I know some of the communities he describes--and he is all wrong about living the artistic life in New Mexico, etc. Save your money and check this out at the library.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting light reading, July 23, 2002

By 

Hope T. (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America: Discover Creative Communities, Fresh Air, and Affordable Living (Paperback)

I bought this book to help research places to move to. I think the title is misleading as some of the top places were not affordable! I think it's a great book for people that are researching vacation destinations... but if you are looking to move and basing your research on this book... you need to supplement it with others! I also thought they left some other appropriate selections out... so it didn't seem to be as complete as I would have liked. Regardless, it's interesting to see towns grouped together under this umbrella of art town and I did enjoy reading it.

40 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellant guide to the best small art towns in America., November 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America: Discover Creative Communities, Fresh Air, and Affordable Living (Paperback)

By Georganne Beck-Wilson Columnist for the Little Rock Free Press, Little Rock, Ar and resident of Hot Springs.

So you've grown tired of the rat-race of city life, the noise, hustle and bustle, high cost of living and just too darn many people. You think you might like to move to a smaller town but - God forbid - what would you do without the theatre, good restaraunts and of course, art galleries? John Villani can solve that problem for you. The author of The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America-Discover Creative Communities, Fresh Air and Affordable Living (John Muir Publications, $16.95) has done the footwork, so-to-speak, and can guide you in helping to find that perfect place to live or maybe just a special weekend getaway. In the completely revised third edition, this handy guide can help you find the best art town to visit that is near you - and what makes it so special; discover why small towns are perfect places to buy high-quality art at a price you can live with; and, what to see and do if you are trying to cram a trip into a few days. There are interviews with gallery owners who discuss why their town is the best place to be and what brought them there. The book provides essentials such as population, art events, art spaces, hangouts, bookstores, public radio stations and addresses for the chamber of commerce in each town. This new addition has completely new and updated facts on communities making repeat appearances, and for the first time, includes profiles of local artists. Hot Springs has bragging rights on this section. Out of only seven profiles, Hot Springs has not only one, but two, focusing on writer and painter Carole Katchen and Jeanie Linders, Executive Producer of the Hot Springs Street Painting Festival. These indepth looks at each artist provide information like what kind of media they work with, artistic accomplishments and what brought them to the town they now call home. For Katchen, whose achievements include writing Hollywood screenplays and 16 books, it was the stable and supportive arts community that influenced her to move to the Spa City. That and the fact that for what she was paying for car insurance in Los Angeles she could be making payments on a new house! From Baie St. Paul in Canada, to Homer, Alaska to Bellingham, Wash., to Key West, Villani, an author from Santa Fe, N.M., covers the United States from tip to tip. A travel and arts writer for numerous national publications, Villani has his own travel column in the "Sante Fe New Mexican" and covers Santa Fe's arts scene for the "Albuquerque Journal." So whether you're looking for a "great place to live or a new place to visit," this is the book for you.