Newark Among ‘Most Vibrant Arts Communities’ In Nation: Report

NEWARK, NJ — Newark has one of the “most vibrant arts communities” in the nation, a report says.

The SMU DataArts, the National Center for Arts Research, recently released their 2019 Arts Vibrancy Index Report, which named Newark high on their 2019 list of “The Top 40 Most Arts-Vibrant Communities in America.”

Read the full report and see its methodology.

Newark came in at #7 among large metropolitan areas, ranking behind:

• New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ
• San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco
• Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA
• Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
• Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
• Boston, MA

According to SMU DataArts, here’s why the arts are so vital:

“Arts and cultural organizations are engines of community development and community cohesion. The arts provide culturally infused experiences that are consumed in an open, social setting, which is ideal for engendering social integration in a diverse marketplace. The current climate of political, sociocultural, and economic polarization makes it more important than ever to recognize and celebrate the essential role that arts and culture play in making communities throughout the country not only more vibrant places to live and visit but also more unified, safe, and tolerant.”

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