Juneau makes top 10 list for most ‘arts vibrant’ small communities

Juneau made a top 10 list for most “arts vibrant” small communities. That’s communities with a population under 100,000.

“We were thrilled!” said Meghan Chambers, an executive assistant at Juneau Arts and Humanities Council. “I mean, the word vibrant is already in our branding, so that’s helpful for us.”

The National Center for Arts Research at Southern Methodist University in Dallas published the data-driven list earlier this month. Juneau’s No. 8 ranking out of 937 communities is based on 12 per capita measures, including

  • The number of people employed by arts and culture institutions,
  • The number of nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in the area,
  • Revenue and expenses of those institutions, and
  • State and federal funding of the arts.

The No. 1 community was Breckenridge, Colorado.

“To be ranked No. 8 on the vibrant list … is really exciting and proves that we’ve been working really hard and our efforts are seen nationally,” Chambers said.

Across the metrics, Juneau was No. 1 in one area: federal arts grant dollars per capita. That could become moot in the next ranking if President Donald Trump’s proposed federal budget goes through. He’s proposed eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Jeremy Hsieh

Local News Reporter, KTOO

I dig into questions about the forces and institutions that shape Juneau, big and small, delightful and outrageous. What stirs you up about how Juneau is built and how the city works?

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