Arvika is known for the turn of the century (around 1900) artist commune Rackstad just outside the city. Here, several famous Swedish artists lived and worked, the most well-known probably being Christian Eriksson and Gustaf Fj�stad and his wife Maja Fj�stad. Other talents that lived in Rackstad include Bj�rn Ahlgrensson and Fritz Lindstr�m.
In recent times, the Arvika Festival (since 1992) is the biggest annual event in the area, with several international bands visiting the town during three days in July every summer. In recent years such bands as Einst�rzende Neubauten, Hot Chip, Robyn, The Knife,Ministry, New Order, Kraftwerk and Franz Ferdinand have performed here. The 2009 festival was headlined by Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, R�yksopp and Korn and was the biggest edition of the festival ever.
One of the six university colleges of music in Sweden, Ingesund College of Music, a department of Karlstad University, is situated in Arvika
