Somerville Launches New Initiatives To Protect Public Art

SOMERVILLE, MA — The City of Somerville has launched several new initiatives to protect existing art studios and create new spaces for local artists.

These new steps include embarking on a listening tour focusing on artist studio meetings. The tour is underway, with the next one scheduled for Oct. 14.

The city has also launched a Somerville Creative Space Data Survey, created by the Somerville Arts Council to assess what types of spaces artists and arts organizations need.

"Whether it is creating jobs and economic opportunities, discovering innovative ways to engage communities or help grow cultural awareness, the arts play a huge role in making Somerville the dynamic city that it is,” Mayor Katjana Ballantyne said in a statement. “We are an arts-forward, innovative community, and we will continue to find ways to keep our artist community here and ensure that it thrives.”

“We bought the Armory building to preserve it as an arts and cultural center, and we have developed innovative zoning requirements ensuring that space is dedicated for the arts in new development,” she added. "Now we're keenly focused on creating systems to match arts space needs with new spaces becoming available.”

The Somerville Zoning Ordinance (SZO) is one of the first in the country that earmarks new spaces for art and creative enterprises (ACE) uses within new developments. The SZO, which was enacted in 2019, recently helped find a new home for Parts and Crafts - a cherished maker program for youth - at Boynton Yards outside of Union Square.

Over the next decade, the SZO is expected to create 275,000 square feet of ACE space in Union Square, giving Somerville the exciting opportunity to preserve and propel its existing arts and cultural community.

To hear directly from artists about their needs and challenges, Mayor Ballantyne started a “listening tour” at Vernon Street Studios. The focus groups will concentrate on rent increase concerns and the importance of large studio buildings as incubators and communities. The next meeting with Mayor Ballantyne will take place with artists at Brickbottom on October 14.

"We believe that arts and cultural spaces enliven and revitalize urban developments and neighborhoods,” Tom Galligani, Acting Executive Director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, said in a statement. “Art is not an add-on; it creates a sense of place and vibrancy. Arts enhance daily life and are an integral part of this city’s economic engine.”

To better understand the current needs of local artists, the Somerville Arts Council is asking all artists, including musicians, dancers, makers, cultural producers, and organizations of all kinds, to complete the Somerville Creative Space Data Survey. The results of the survey will be crucial for the City in assessing what types of spaces artists and arts organizations need.

Artists and organizations can complete the survey at somervilleartscouncil.org/spacesurvey.