For most of 20th century Provincetown has sustained an important, dynamic environment for the creation of art in all its manifestations -- fine art, writing, music, theater and performance art. At the turn of the century it was the rarefied ocean light that drew the giants like Charles Hawthorne here. Beyond the ethereal there was also the paradox of a tightly knit community of iconoclasts living in splendid geographic isolation. The Portuguese fisherman and the tormented playwright like Eugene O'Neill eked out similar existences, forsaking mainland security to live on the frontier of America facing East. The artists were accepted as kindred spirits right from the beginning and enjoyed an intellectual freedom that more civilized communities may have denied them.

Today culture is very important part of Provincetown tourism industry, bringing many people to stay in Town, see shows and attend theater productions, festivals activities or take workshops and classes offered by Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Fine Arts Work Center, New Provincetown Players and Truro Center for the Arts, many offered year-round.

Provincetown Theater, New Provincetown Players - Long considered to be the birthplace of modern American theatre, Provincetown is where Eugene O'Neill and Susan Glaspell formed the original Provincetown Players in 1916. Throughout the 20th century, Tennessee Williams and countless other playwrights, actors and directors have realized their talents here on the outermost tip of Cape Cod. Formed from a merger of two existing companies in the fall of 2005, New Provincetown Players is forging a distinguished new identity using the best elements of professional and community theatre to create its current and future seasons. Their mission is: 1. sponsor new play development and produce plays by American artists; 2. present professional and non-professional productions; 3. provide educational and training opportunities for youth and adults; 4. and maintain the Provincetown Theater as a performing arts venue for the Cape Cod community.

Provincetown Art House is the place to see shows with Varla Jean Merman, Lea DeLaria, Miss Richfield 1981, Judy Gold and more. They also host Provincetown International Film Festival (in June).

PTV produces vidoes and movies about Provincetown and offers year-round classes in movie-making.

The Provincetown Art Association and Museum, founded in 1914, has the works of its masters, Hawthorne (who founded the Cape Cod School of Art in 1899), Henry Hensche (who founded the Cape School of Art in 1935), Hans Hofmann, Edward Hopper, Robert Motherwell in its collection, and many contemporary artists living and working on Lower Cape.

The Fine Arts Work Center draws writers and artists to Provincetown as fellows in its winter artist-in-residence program. A converted lumber yard, the FAWC houses 20 emerging writers and artists in the same studios inhabited by indigent artists before the FAWC was founded in 1968, when the lumber yard owners patronized starving artists by renting out disused lofts to them for a pittance. During summer months FAWC offers wide range of classes in visual arts and writing.

The Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum has occupied a prominent place in the Provincetown landscape since 1910, when it was completed and dedicated by President William Howard Taft to commemorate the landing of the Mayflower Pilgrims in 1620. The 252 ft. granite structure has been admired and climbed by millions of visitors to the area and generations of local residents. The annual lighting of the monument every November, which celebrates the Pilgrims’ stay in Provincetown before moving on to Plymouth, has become a much-loved tradition. The current museum, built in 1961, combines the collections of the PMPM and the former Provincetown Historical Museum. It offers permanent exhibits on Provincetown history-- highlighting the arrival of the Mayflower pilgrims, the town’s rich maritime history, the early days of modern American theatre in Provincetown, and the building of the monument.

Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill - Their mission is to foster the arts and crafts by providing a wide range of instruction for adults and children. Castle Hill holds exhibitions, lectures, forums, concerts and other similar activities in order to promote social interaction among artists, craftsmen, laymen, and the community at large.

The works of artists, past and present, is displayed extensively in Provincetown. Major gallery owners promote the art of unrecognized artists along side the work of successful artists which sells itself. Friday night is opening night for most Provincetown galleries.