As part of NPR’s Destination Art series, reporter Neda Ulaby visited Marfa:  minimalist sculpture Donald Judd’s former Army base, the 400 acres now owned by the Chinati Foundation and the entire ‘arts town’ that’s now grown up around them:

Just in the past three years, The New York Times has run almost half a dozen features about Marfa — one solely on its handful of restaurants …

Vegan food, straw bale houses and funky bars filled with artsy kids clinking Shiner Bocks with famous painters and film directors. Their pearl-buttoned shirts and cowboy boots can make the place feel like a Western-themed outpost of Brooklyn. And for a town of only about 2,000 people, you can amuse yourself nightly with screenings, readings and, of course, gallery shows….

But it can be tough, says poet Tim Johnson. “It’s also a highly critical community, so people will let you know if [your art] is second- or third-rate or whatever,” he says.

Listen to her story here.