Mayor David N. Cicilline announced that AmericanStyle magazine’s annual reader’s poll has named Providence as a “Top 25 Arts Destination” for the second year in a row. In a letter to Mayor Cicilline the magazine’s publisher, Wendy Rosen, said “the arts in your city continue to draw the support and appreciation of both natives and visitors alike.”

“Providence’s designation as the ‘Top 25 Arts Destination’, for the second year in a row, validates the great work of our arts community and confirms my administration’s strong commitment to the arts,” said Mayor Cicilline. “The Department of Art, Culture and Tourism has worked hard over the past three-and-a-half years to raise the stature of arts and culture in city government and to position Providence as an international cultural destination.”

According to the magazine’s publisher, AmericanStyle readers cast their votes based upon the “unique and interesting ways in which cities and towns of all sizes are using art to fuel tourism and revitalization projects”.

According to the Mayor, the Department of Art, Culture and Tourism, under Lynne McCormack’s leadership, continues to do an excellent job forging partnerships with local artists, local businesses, and community groups to leverage resources outside City government. As a result, he said, the city has been able to implement a broad range of unprecedented quality programs that have served the city’s residents, and visitors alike, beyond previous years.

The Mayor pointed to Providence’s Celebrate Providence! Neighborhood Performing Arts Initiative, which brings live performing arts into the city’s neighborhoods, as a example of the high quality arts programs his administration has created in partnership with other organizations. The initiative captured the U. S. Conference of Mayors Livability Award.

Other successful initiatives include the award winning Sound Session, Bright Night Providence, FirstWorksKids and FirstWorks arts festival, and a partnership with the Providence Tourism Council and Rhode Island Monthly magazine to produce Destination Providence, a bi-annual publication promoting arts and culture in the city.

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