Connecticut is known for being one of the smallest and wealthiest states, but it's also a great place to live for anyone interested in arts and culture. The best cities in Connecticut for the arts are spread across the state, and they encompass big metros and smaller towns. We though we'd take a look at Connecticut in a new light and find out where the best towns and city are for budding artists and musicians, art lovers and those who have a passion for culture. New Haven topped our list, thanks in large part to Yale University's contributions, and it's joined by four other Connecticut cities:
1. New Haven
2. Hartford
3. Old Lyme
4. Stamford
5. Ridgefield
With the Yale University campus sprawled throughout the heart of the city, New Haven is one of the best cities in Connecticut for arts and culture. The Arts Council of Greater New Haven and the non-profit Creative Arts Workshop keep the arts very much alive in the city, and the downtown area is filled with places for local artists to mingle, including the Atticus Bookstore/Cafe and the Azoth Gallery at New Haven's public library. Academia is very much a part of the arts, as New Haven has four accredited schools offering post-secondary arts degrees within a 10-minute drive, including Yale University, the University of New Haven, Southern Connecticut State University and the Paier College of Art.
The Yale Center for British Art, the Yale School of Art Gallery, the Yale University Art Gallery, and Woolsey Hall serve as cultural anchors for the community, but there's much more than these. New Haven is also home to the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, the Institute Library, the New Haven Museum and the Yale Collection of Musical Instruments. Dance also has its place in New Haven. Though most dancers hoping to become professionals hop on the MetroNorth train for the short ride into New York City, the New Haven Ballet ensures that dance is also a part of New Haven's cultural landscape.
During the summer months, artists, collectors, and art lovers turn out in force on the New Haven Green for the annual New Haven Arts Festival as well as the 18-day International Festival of Arts and Ideas, which is held in various venues across the city. The New Haven Symphony holds open rehearsals at Woolsey Hall during the cooler months, and you can sometimes catch them rehearsing at outdoor venues throughout the city during the spring and summer.
Hartford ranks second to New Haven when it comes to arts and culture only because New Haven's artist community is much tighter. That said, Hartford is home to one of the largest art museums in the state, the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, which hosts global art collections that cross genres and traveling exhibitions from around the globe. The Atheneum has been operating since 1844, and it's well known for its collection of European baroque and American and French impressionist art as well as early American furniture. You'll find plenty of other art museums and galleries as well in the city, including the Gallery at Constitution Plaza, TheaterWorks at City Arts on Pearl, ArtWalk at the Hartford library and the 100 Pearl Street Gallery.
One of the best cities in Connecticut to see Off-Broadway plays, Hartford is also home to the Bushnell Performing Arts Center. In addition to live plays, its calendar is also filled with concerts that range from Motown and jazz to the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. The Hartford City Ballet and other visiting dance troops are also frequently featured on their own or as part of other performances.
Trinity College in downtown Hartford offers advanced degrees in the arts and music, so the city always has a strong network of budding artists. In fact, the Colt Building is the future home of plenty of loft space to house new and established artists to create a stronger cultural community.
Nestled between Long Island Sound and the Connecticut River, Old Lyme's history in the arts goes back generations. During the 1800s, popular Impressionist artists, including Guy Wiggins and Childe Hassam, called Old Lyme home. The spectacular Congregational Church that sits in the center of town was often painted by some of the town's most famous artist residents.
Though there are only a handful of art galleries in town, including the Chauncey Stillman Gallery and the Diane Birdsall Gallery, there are plenty in the surrounding areas of Old Saybrook and Essex. Locals get a good taste of the performing arts and music at the nearby Goodspeed Opera House. The Lyme Art Association works diligently to hold the artistic threads together that once were the lifeblood of the town, and it has managed to keep up a strong community due to its efforts.
Though its 128,000 residents are a diverse mix, many of them are passionate about the arts. The Loft Artist Association and the Stamford Art Association holds together and supports a strong network of of local artists, and you can often view their work at the Franklin Street Works, the UConn Stamford Art Gallery, the Samuel Owen Gallery or the Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery. The Stamford Symphony often performs at the Palace Theatre, as do students from the Ballet School of Stamford, and Stamford Center for the Arts and the Locust Performing Arts Center of Stamford host a number of events throughout the year.
Stamford's annual four percent population growth exceeds that of the state, and that's partly due to Stamford's prime Fairfield County location that's just 43 miles north of New York City. The MetroNorth Station in Stamford makes it easy for the artistically inclined to pop into the city for an afternoon at the Museum of Modern Art or an evening watching a live Broadway play.
Located in tony Fairfield County, Ridgefield offers the peaceful and private atmosphere that artists crave. With a list of past and present residents that includes abstract artist Nicholas Krushenick, author and cartoonist Roz Chast, composer Aaron Copland, and singer Judy Collins, Ridgefield has always had its fair share of artists in its midst. The Ridgefield Guild of Artists is extremely active in keeping art, music, and dance in the town's focus, and the locals are fierce in protecting any artists and musicians living there.
Ridgefield is well-known for the gallery at the Weir Farm National Historic Site and as the home of the Aldrich Museum. You'll find several art galleries scattered throughout town, including the Rockwell Gallery and the Seven Arts Gallery, and local, regional, and national acts performing at the popular Ridgefield Playhouse.
