From the Editor

In June of 2008, AmericanStyle Magazine ranked the top 25 arts destinations in the country. Not surprisingly, New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C. took the top honors, with results based on an annual readers’ poll.

What might have shocked some, however, was the City of Columbus capturing the No. 10 spot, ahead of Los Angeles, Denver, Austin and Nashville. Of course, we’re not surprised at all.

CityScene has spent the past 10 years covering the visual arts scene in Columbus – writing about emerging artists, interviewing legends in the making and simply trying to be good stewards of the city’s artistic potential. We have sponsored art-centered events and have used our pages to publicize every possible inch of relevant goings-on in the local art world.

Not once have we struggled to find good material. Columbus has a strong foundation in art, at one time or another harboring a number of illustrious artists, including Elijah Pierce, Alice Schille, Emerson Burkhart, Roy Lichtenstein and George Bellows.

Bellows’ Cliff Dwellers is honored as a mural on the side of the Burgundy Room building in the Short North and was recreated by another successful Columbus artist, Curtis Goldstein, who was featured in CityScene’s November/December 2007 issue. It is a perfect past-meets-present example of Columbus’ artistic significance.

Through the years, we’ve tried to illustrate this city’s capability in our “ArtScene” section – featuring artists embedded in every medium, from fiber to glass to watercolor. It has given us a forum to pick Goldstein’s brain about why he stuck with a Columbus classic in Bellows. We’ve also tried to figure out the secret to Mac Worthington’s longevity; taken a trip out to the inspiring countryside with Michael McEwan; highlighted the timeless work of Aminah Robinson; and much more.

We’ve gallery hopped all over the city, exposed the area’s plein air painters, and have joined in on artists collectives. We have helped sponsor art festivals from Westerville to downtown to Dublin.

For 10 years, CityScene has embraced the arts because Columbus has shown dedication to the arts – something that is reiterated with every gallery lining High Street and beyond, with the abundant commissioned murals, the sculptures overlooking the Scioto River or hanging above Town Street, and the fruitful existence CCAD, the Columbus Museum of Art and the Wexner Center. Columbus even has a bar that focuses specifically on art – BoMA.

We are one of only seven cities nationwide that feature Via Colori, a street painting festival which raises funds for non-profit organizations and turns Goodale Park into a vibrant wonderland. Comfest, which showcases music and art, is the largest free, volunteer-based festival in the country. And the Columbus Arts Festival welcomes summer as one of the top arts events in the Midwest, generating about 400,000 visitors to browse the nearly 250 juried artists.

Columbus has certainly come a long way toward its artistic relevance. The Short North, once laden with low-end, run-down storefronts and derelicts, now bustles with luxury boutiques, premium restaurants and thousands of monthly visitors, many of whom add stops well beyond High Street – to maybe the Clintonville Art Crawl or the Grandview Hop – to shop for their art.

This city has caught on to the power of art and has openly bolstered artistic efforts, which has in turn magnetized creative types from every cloth and every part of the country. As a top 10 arts destination, the cycle has proved successful. CityScene is proud to have been part of that evolution, and will continue to celebrate the imagination of Columbus’ artists for years to come.