Valentine Art Walk in downtown Beaufort, 2011
Valentine Art Walk in downtown Beaufort, 2011

Art walks throughout downtown Beaufort, art galleries on St. Helena Island, and ARTworks in Beaufort Town Center— Beaufort is an avowed art town, and it's not only the artists who think so. For the past four years or so, AmericanStyle magazineand its readers have ranked Beaufort as a Top 25 Small Art City.AmericanStyle covers "contemporary craft, craft collectors and the artists...providing art lovers with valuable collecting, interior design and display ideas," and they emphasize art travel too. The 2011 poll is now open, and ARTworks, the arts council of Beaufort, Port Royal, and the Sea Islands, is asking everyone who supports the arts (and the creative economy and tourism) to vote for Beaufort. There's also a spot to write-in Bluffton, Port Royal, and Hilton Head (art's so subjective that way, after all.) "Voting in this poll is important for many reasons. It's an opportunity for people to participate in showing their love of the arts and of our town. When people get involved, we as a community get a bump— a healthy dose of national recognition—  just from being in the Top 25 Small Art Cities," explained JW Rone, the executive director of ARTworks. ARTworks applies the many creative tools of The Arts to strengthen artists and to enrich audiences, collectors, and visitors through high quality arts experiences and arts education programs 365 days a year.Voting is just a few clicks of E-Z effectiveness!  It ends March 5th, and the arts will go on.