If you grew up nearby, nothing highlights the changes in Somerville in recent decades more than the fact that the city's official web site brags on its arts community: "Somerville is Arts Central: only New York has more artists per capita than the City of Somerville; the local artists make the City one of the most vibrant and exciting arts centers in the country." I suspect there are a few places that might want to contest that claim, which would be fine as long as they do it over a couple of pints at the Burren. In any case, here's the lowdown on Somerville Open Studios 2008...
Subtitled "The First Decade," the event is set for the weekend of May 3-4, noon-6pm each day, with over 340 artists in more than 100 venues. Advance events include the “Artists’ Choice” exhibition, April 17-May 16, with an opening on Thurs., April 17, 6-9 pm, at the Somerville Museum. The most fun part sounds like the SOS Kickoff Bike Ride on Friday night May 2, gathering 7:30 to 8:30 pm at the Somerville Museum and then touring the city in two groups, ending at either Davis or Union Square at 10:00 pm. All Somerville Open Studios events are free and open to the public. For up-to-date information, visit somervilleopenstudios.org or call 617-543-9265.
Anchor sites for the weekend are the Brickbottom Gallery’s “Milestones & Benchmarks” (Mar. 30-May 4, www.brickbottomartists.com/site/gallery_current.html), East Somerville Main Streets “The Colors of the Americas: East Somerville Art Walk” (Apr. 19-May 20, www.eastsomervillemainstreets.org) and the Nave Gallery’s “Turn On A Dime” (May 2-25, www.artsomerville.org/nave/exhibits.html). A free trolley service courtesy of Old Town Trolley will connect these exhibits during the weekend, circling the city from the Union Square and the lower Broadway areas on the east side to the Powderhouse and Davis Squares on the west side. Four trolleys will run on a continuous basis during SOS weekend, that has organizers promising no more than a 15 minute wait at any stop.
SOS artwork by Regna (sculpture) and Lawoti (photography).
More artists per capita than Santa Fe? I don't think so.
Posted by: Bob Asbury | April 07, 2008 at 05:36 PM