AmericanStyle Readers Reveal the Nation's Favorite Arts Destinations

Readers' Poll Identifies the 2008 Top 25 Arts Destinations

Baltimore, Md. (April 8, 2008)— Hidden jewels and perennial favorites are among the winners this week of AmericanStyle magazine’s annual poll determining the nation’s Top 25 Arts Destinations for 2008.  For more than a decade, arts travelers have trusted the annual poll to guide them to emerging arts scenes and cultural meccas.
   
Santa Fe, N.M., held the No. 1 spot in the Small Cities and Towns category for the third consecutive year. Quiet Asheville, N.C., leaped into second place, rising from last year’s fifth place. Sedona, Ariz., dropped one place to No. 3.

Buffalo, N.Y., rocketed to first place from last year’s No. 14 in the Mid-Sized Cities category. Scottsdale, Ariz., was ranked second place. Pittsburgh, Pa., which was last year’s No. 1 in the category, fell to third place.

Favorites ruled the Big Cities category:  For the fifth consecutive year, New York City took the top spot. Perennial runner-up Chicago took the No. 2 spot. Washington, D.C., edged out San Francisco to take the third-place ranking.

In a first for AmericanStyle, the winners were announced simultaneously in Europe and in the United States. Wendy Rosen, publisher, and Hope Daniels, editor-in-chief of AmericanStyle, announced the winners on April 8 from Dublin, Ireland, where they were presenting ideas for improving cultural tourism and arts business exchanges to benefit American and Irish artists, and to attract European collectors to America's great art destinations.
 
Complete results of the annual readers’ poll and profiles of the top three cities in each category are featured on www.AmericanStyle.com and in the June issue of AmericanStyle, now on newsstands at major booksellers across the country. 

About AmericanStyle
First published in 1995, AmericanStyle magazine is the national arts lifestyle magazine for art enthusiasts, collectors and travelers. Published bi-monthly, AmericanStyle can be found online at www.AmericanStyle.com and on newsstands nationwide. Featuring articles on contemporary artists, galleries, arts travel and art events, the magazine’s annual Top 25 Arts Destinations readers’ poll has earned the magazine national recognition for being the premier arts travel resource.  The Top 10 Art Fairs and Festivals annual readers’ poll, which premiered in August 2004, is quickly becoming an award coveted by the nation’s top art events. In 2003, AmericanStyle magazine was named Baltimore’s Best Niche Magazine by Baltimore magazine.

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A complete list of the 2008 Top 25 Arts Destinations is available at www.AmericanStyle.com.