Wyoming Arts Council

From ARTSblog: “Rethinking Cultural Districts for Small Towns in Small States”


Michael Lange

Michael Lange, the WAC’s Community Development and the Arts specialist, wrote a blog post today for Americans for the Arts’ ARTSblog entitled “Rethinking Cultural Districts for Small Towns in Small States.” The WAC blog excerpts it here:

Using cultural districts as a structure for arts and cultural activities is a central catalyst for revitalization efforts that build better communities. Many states and urban areas have setup structures, often through legislation, that promote cultural districts as a way to build vibrant communities that lead to social and economic development.

Getting to the end outcome – the arts playing a leading role in revitalization efforts – is a necessary endeavor, but setting up structures in the same way as urban areas may not be the best approach for a rural state like Wyoming.

Wyoming is one of the largest states geographically, but has the smallest population of any state with 575,000 people. Wyoming is better categorized as frontier or even remote. The largest populated city in Wyoming is the state capital Cheyenne, with a population just over 61,000 people. Of the 99 incorporated municipalities, only about half have populations over 1,000 people, and only a handful of those have a population over 10,000.

Read the rest on ARTSblog.


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