ACR Staff

The State of Louisiana can be charming, beautiful, bizarre, and stifling all at the same time, but ask anyone who’s been there they’ll say they had the time of their life. First, the state is home to the biggest Mardi Gras celebration in the country. Next, Louisiana’s largest city—New Orleans, which also hosts Mardi Gras, is filled with street artists, art galleries big and small, production studios, design centers, and museums galore. New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), Ogden Museum of Southern Art, The Contemporary Arts Center, and New Orleans Center for Creative Arts are just a few. University-affiliated art museums such as LSU Museum of Art of Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge and Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum of the University of Louisiana University, Lafayette are also well known.

With a population more than 9.9 million, North Carolina is the 10th largest state in the U.S. It is home to creative cities such as Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Durham, and Winston-Salem. In fact, on the list of America’s Leading Creative Class Metros, Durham, North Carolina tops the list. Around 48.4 percent of the population here are members of the creative class, which consists of professionals in the fields of arts, design and architecture, entertainment and media, science and technology, and healthcare, law, management and education.

Ok, so Maryland is definitely one of the smallest states by land size, but packed within its borders are nearly 6 million residents, making it the sixth highest density state in the U.S. and the 19th largest by population. While Maryland is also made up of 157 municipalities and 10 cities with populations of more than 25,000, everything that happens in the world of art and design usually happens in Baltimore—the state’s largest city.

Home to nearly 623,000 residents, Baltimore is home to the renowned Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA), The Walters Art Museum, and The American Visionary Art Museum. The city is also home to hundreds of art galleries, design studios, performance venues, and art centers. Just a few include the Patricia & Arthur Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric, Center Stage, Baltimore Contemporary Art, and Julio Fine Arts Gallery at Loyola University Maryland. 

Yes, Indiana has a lot to offer aspiring artists of all kinds. For starters, Indiana is home to 109 Title IV degree-granting colleges and universities, and most are very affordable. Some of the state’s best schools include the University of Notre Dame, Purdue University-West Lafayette, Indiana University-Bloomington, and Ball State University. Next, many of these schools offer a variety of innovative programs for aspiring animators. For example, Indiana University offers a BA in New Media, Art, & Technology with a Creative Digital Development Concentration (video, animation, and/or mobile application development), and Ball State University offers a BFA with an Emphasis in Animation and an MFA in Animation.