— Photo by Wayne Lake, courtesy of Jean Appolon Expressions.

By Ryan DiLello

In the heart of Somerville there is a 120-year-old armory building that stores resources for local artists to defend cultural spaces within the community.

Stephanie Scherpf is the Director of the Center for the Arts at the Armory. For 12 years the organization has served as a cultural hub for growing artists to experiment, perform, and connect with the Somerville community.

Each year, the Armory hosts over 750 events, covering an incredible amount of mixed media and, generally, providing support for artists to do their thing, affordably. “We do everything from circus, to queer tango, to teen open mic,” Scherpf says.

— Photo by Bob Bond, courtesy of Tongue in Cheek.

With its new Performance Opportunity Program, the Armory is extending its affordable spaces to more diverse and underserved artists. The initiative provides chosen applicants with financial, marketing, and production support for an event in the Armory’s performance hall. The Armory will host a POP event once per month (except during July and August) on off-peak nights Monday-Wednesday.

Despite having cemented its reputation as a notably affordable artist space, the Armory was determined to become more accessible to artists facing financial challenges. When Sherpf and her team noticed that spaces were quiet during the early days of the week, they saw an opportunity to extend the Armory’s services.

“It gives us a chance to provide a platform for people who are doing great work out in the community but might not necessarily make a rental deposit on a space like ours,” Scherpf says. “We also want to create opportunities for audiences to see live arts performances, to have cultural experiences that build bridges and facilitate understanding.”

Scherpf hopes that POP will create some buzz on off-peak nights and that the program will empower artists wherever they are in their journey, from enabling new artists to break into a scene to affording growing artists that leap into larger performance spaces without the usual pressures and stress.

Applications are open now, available on the website: Announcing the Performance Opportunity Program (POP) | Arts at the Armory