See Oil City:
Oil City Facts and Photo Tour
Oil City film by artist Joanie Springer

Read About Oil City:
http://www.keystoneedge.com/
Catalyst Magazine, 2012
PA Chamber features Oil City
The Derrick and News Herald, 2011
OC's "Little City" Feel Appeals
Art Calendar February, 2010
How Oil City Turned Itself Around
Art Calendar March, 2008 
Ten Great Towns for Working Artists

 

Oil City looks deceptively like the town that time forgot, with its turn-of-the-century architecture and leisurely, small-town feel.  But it is in the process of re-inventing itself, and and the core of a committed arts community is growing in its distinctive buildings.  With urban markets in Erie, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Buffalo in easy reach, more and more artists are becoming small-town transplants -- and small towns like Oil City are becoming vibrant centers of creativity. 

Over the last few years, artists have taken over much of the historic National Transit headquarters and established studios.  Independent musicians and filmmakers have started annual festivals, and the Oil City Arts Council sponsors concerts, classes, and events throughout the year, including a First Night celebration and a lively Bluegrass Festival.

"I moved to Oil City in 1996 because I could buy a house here for less than a year's rent in Boston -- and because I found a great combination of small town living and city amenities here," says Joann Wheeler, the artist who is heading up the Oil City arts revitalization effort.  "The area boasts an airport, a new regional medical center, safe schools, a branch campus of Clarion University, fine community theaters, a thriving music scene, excellent libraries, beautiful, affordable Victorian homes, and a well-equipped arts center and galleries, all in a breathtaking rural setting of wooded hills and pristine waterways.  Dance and pottery studios are under construction downtown.  And now that over 20 artists have moved here from all over the country, the arts are taking off in an exciting way!"