For the second year in a row, Chattanooga is ranked among the Top 25 arts destinations by readers of AmericanStyle magazine.
Described as “a city that simply lives and breathes art,” Chattanooga is rated fourth among cities its size (100,000 to 499,000 residents). Though it dropped from its No. 2 ranking of the previous year, Chattanooga was one of only two cities to repeat in the Top 5. The other, New Orleans, ascended from fifth to second place.
Last year, Chattanooga was considered a dark-horse contender that “muscle(d) its way into the No. 2 spot,” according to the magazine’s archives, as it had not placed at all on the 2008 list.
Topping the 2010 list is St. Petersburg, Fla. (22nd last year). Alexandria, Va., (11th last year) beat Chattanooga “by a hair” for third place, according to the magazine’s website.
A short profile on Chattanooga’s art scene singled out the ArtsMove artist relocation program and the “Jellies: Living Art” collaboration between the Hunter Museum of American Art and the Tennessee Aquarium