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The Best Cities for Young Artists

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Memphis

Move over Austin, ’cause with a cheap cost of living and lots of public art works, Memphis is attracting your hipsters. They may have sauntered in for the delicious home cooked meals, but creative minds have come to love the sleepy Southern town thanks to initiatives like Live from Memphis and the Urban Art Commission. The crowning achievement, Memphis in May, is a month-long shindig celebrating foodies, at the World Championship BBQ Cooking Contest, musicians, at the Beale Street Music Festival, and a kitschy International Week where one far-flung country is celebrated. Guerilla artists, you’ve met your match. No medium is too weird for Memphis.

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Comments (53)

Great list but would have to disagree with São Paulo. While the art scene is booming, rents and cost of living are nearly on par with NY. A young starving artist who moves to São Paulo might have a difficult time making ends meet.

You negleted Detroit. Not the first time.

What about Austin?

What about the Philippines?

Barcelona for sure is one of them ! check out SWAB Contemporary Art fair from 26 – 29 May 2011!
http://www.swab.es

detroit!

I would also suggest Porto, Portugal!

X+ in Dallas (North Oak Cliff)

Tel Aviv!!!!

No Buenos Aires?? Are you in insane?

the picture accompanying the Brussels text is of a mural of Asterix characters, not Tin Tin.

I recently moved to Basel from Miami, and despite the city’s conservative reputation I’m finding the support for independent young artists to be quite strong, providing strong and realistic financial and support for the creative community, as opposed to Miami’s all talk no walk reality.

You guys totally forgot , or I guess don’t know about Istanbul, pretty crazy there at the moment.. …besides NYC is pretty much still ahead everywhere else. Like that fact or not , but it is.

yeah Sao Paulo is OUTRAGEOUS. May as well move to NYC, as you can at least get a better day job in NYC to help with that cost of living.

A few that you missed in the Americas: Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Detroit, Milwaukee (yes, Milwaukee), Portland (OR), Austin, Bogota, Florianopolis – the list goes on. And Montreal was the place to move for young artists 10+ years ago. Not now.

Mexico City, you guys. Mexico City.

I love seeing my home (Memphis) on this list. Being friends with a LOT of creative people, you get to see firsthand how Memphis is much more than BBQ. Love it!

I’ve never spent any time in those other cities, but I can personally attest to Memphis being an excellent place for young artists. Lots of cheap space, fun nightlife and, perhaps its greatest asset- an incredibly rich cultural heritage.

Mostly agreeing with the list. Coming from Montreal, I can tell that it is indeed a great place for creativity. Its just cheap, laid back and just awesome city. But I would have to say that Vienna should be in this list as well. I am currently living there and I can say that the art scene is just booming. Lots of funding and a great amount of off-spaces with high quality artworks but still easy for young artists to exhibit in. Its also very well connected internationally and provides many opportunities.

Macau? Impossible.
I’m working in Macau.
No way it’s an city for young artists.
Sorry, you better do your homework .

pittsburgh.

That picture in the email with the colorful steps is Rio, not Sao Paulo…

Memphis rocks

Macau! LOL

memphis art scene is awesome

here are some rising young memphis artists who i’ve seen a lot of lately

enfectious erf – facebook.com/enfectiouserf

lauren holterman – http://laurenrae.carbonmade.com/
– http://holtermonster.com/

james enscho – http://www.jamesinscho.com/

derrick dent – http://www.derrickdent.com/

nosey (and friends) – http://www.flickr.com/photos/memphisordie/with/4482040389/

christopher robin (having trouble finding his website) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQrtL14ymlM

“Move over Austin, ’cause with a cheap cost of living and lots of public art works, Memphis is attracting your hipsters.”

Good riddance. Although, to be frank, most hipsters are trust fund babies who only pretend to care about the cost of living.

RuFus, I’m sorry to hear that Memphis has to start doing everything exactly like other cities before it can become cool enough for you. Wait, no I’m not. Stay where you are, please.

Mais, I love Memphis, I said.

Basel is super expensive, so I don’t know how a young artist could possibly mover there. I agree with Detroit, it could be added to your list. Sao Paolo is not cheap, so I’m surprised that you would choose it. I’m curious about Tampa…it has a really cool underground art scene, and I’d imagine it’s pretty affordable….

If everything that does no harm is the only limit to the kind of art you choose to produce and you take into account the article mentions Austin in the first 3 words; and you consider the fact that the author is really comparing cost of living first to quality of bohemian lifestyle second, some folks need to get a grip. It’s not a dis to the other cities, the article is about Memphis, not intended to be an exhaustive expose on every city in the world in which art can thrive. . .

Istanbul. Cheap rent (cheaper than Basel for sure!), great food, booming art scene. Artists move here all the time and they rarely leave.

Bartow, Florida The rent is super cheap . The community is ultra supportive and amny art events to participae in. it’s an up and coming arts distict jewel in central Florida.

@ Christy T !!!
so glad to see Memphis on this list of amazing places for artists.

[...] Visit six other candidate cities– including two, Macao and Las Vegas, that are better known for shilling than selling– at Flavorwire’s “The Best Cities for Young Artists.” [...]

[...] Visit six other candidate cities– including two, Macao and Las Vegas, that are better known for shilling than selling– at Flavorwire’s “The Best Cities for Young Artists.” [...]

As a young artist, visual artist, living in Memphis, TN, the only thing of value in this city is the load of other young artist who live here. Most every young artist who does live here has to work odd jobs that are un-art related because there is no true art scene to support the visual artists. There are only and handful of galleries here as well. There are no community facilities inwhich to make work other than MCA, of which you must be a student to use their equipment. Even the musicians will advise you to get out when you can. Memphis is a great place, but I don’t see how it made this list at all.

[...] Memphis has been named one of the best cities for young artists to live in by Flavorwire. [...]

I seriously don’t know how Memphis made this really extensive global list. You can’t just surmise that Memphis is this amazing art mecca without some substantial evidence (not the BSMF or small non-profits). I have true, talented friends in Seattle, NYC, Portland, Austin and even Savannah, GA that would NEVER consider relocating here. Sure, there is Cooper Young but that small strip of dive bars and a recently acquired Urban Outfitters isn’t going to cut it. Although the Old Main District is becoming nascent, it pales in comparison to other actual art-centered neightborhoods located in this aforementioned cities.

If this was a ‘Best Cities For Young Artists Who Like BBQ,’ then we’d be on top. Not this one.

Thank you for not mentioning Pittsburgh. We’d like to keep it a secret.

Chicago? Nobody?

[...] read the rest of the article go to Flavorwire.com. LikeBe the first to like this post.▶ No Responses /* 0) { jQuery('#comments').show('', [...]

Memphis is a great art city because you can make it whatever you want. If you come to Memphis with pre-conceived notions, fads, and styles of big art cities you’ll be disappointed to find not many here follow that. The status seekers may leave for self-proclaimed greener pastures but that’s because to be big in Memphis you have to be unique and you have to do it because it’s your passion. It’s small enough of a place that you can make a name for yourself and not get lost in a ocean of artists just like you. It’s big enough that you can get publicity, funding, and exposure. It’s got a great mix of non-art lovers to piss off and art fans to keep you motivated. And really, whether Memphis is on the list or not, meh, we really don’t care. We got art to make.

I am also a young visual artist living in Memphis, and the things the other young visual artist living in Memphis said are a bunch of crap. Memphis is awesome. That other young artist living in Memphis must be one of those frustrated studio hermits. I had my choice of great cheap studio space in several emerging art neighborhoods, each with its own style. The only thing I disagree with in the article is the implicit association that all our artists are hipsters. There are strong communities of sculptors in North and South Memphis that don’t fit that label at all.

In terms of art infrastructure, there’s been a recent series of investments made to add to the local scene. These include a revitalized urban core with a new artist residence in production, an old Sears department store is being transformed into artist studio/residences, a new masters program at MCA, a new William Eggleston museum, and the emerging neighborhoods on Broad Street and the Edge.

Not to mention that we have a musical heritage Austin only dreams it had. And to the other poster who asked what about NYC and Seattle and such, remember, this was about cities for YOUNG artists. Sometimes young artists can’t meet the costs of entry in more established centers where paying for studio space means you don’t eat unless you manage to get a reputation at connected art school. I didn’t happen to have 50 grand a year to spend on RISD, so I find myself choosing to live in an affordable city with an active art community where I can work full time instead of hustling at odd-jobs and killing my productive time just to call myself a New York artist.

I’ll take my late nights in my spacious affordable studio standing back from my work and mulling it over as I stuff my face with some Memphis ribs listening to the live blues outside my window.

Depressing, unappealing places, all of them.

If your looking to simply make art in a cheap place you can live any where in any city, even in your parents basement and make really cool stuff. If your lookig to “make it” in the art world you might have to sacrifice financially and “starve” and move to a well developed artistic city such as Portland, LA, NY, Austin. It’s just a matter of priorities.

Detroit is a dump and the scene is dead.

I lived in Detroit for 10 years and I have to agree with NYC, it was still A great place for artists in 2000. Now, its music scene as well as its artist community as a whole is now sad.. I am a big supporter of the arts and can honestly say that i became very uninspired. J

Six Letters not to be underestimated:
B-E-I-R-U-T

Istanbul, Berlin, Mexico City, Austin, Dresden, Hamburg maybe Seoul (in 5 years).

Sorry, but no Southern US city besides Austin has anything going for it. Small, insular, defensive art communities with no impact internationally. German cities can’t rival New York, but Berlin, Munich and Hamburg are all getting better each year — Berlin and Hamburg still have relatively low rent compared to Paris, NY, London — but has a huge art scene (god I hate the word ‘scene’). Plus, everywhere in Germany is fairly close together, which isn’t the case if you live in Pittsburg or Memphis or whatever other semi-acceptable American city you live in.

Buenos Aires? Nah. Nowhere in South America (or Central America) has amazing contemporary art — I’d think Bogotá would have more to offer than Santiago, Montevideo or Buenos Aires.

My two cents? Berlin or Dresden or Hamburg. All great cities, lots of trauma and history, educated population, great infrastructure and lots of subculture to gawk at.

Northern Ireland has a lot to offer as young artists are deciding to stay in the country and not all head for London, expensive overheads.

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