Marbled Bowl – glazed stoneware by Somerville potter Stephen Goss of Goss Cræft, one of the many local artists opening their studios to the public on April 30 and May 1.

By Fernando Cervantes Jr.

Somerville Open Studios (SOS), a local non-profit organization, has been holding art events and an annual open studio event for years. From April 30 to May 1, Somerville Open Studios will hold their annual event.

The event seeks to bring local artists and the Somerville community together, to give access to the work of artists.

Terry Dovidio, Board Member of the Somerville Open Studios, talked about the purpose that the open studios serve.

“The purpose is to bring the public into the artist’s studio and not necessarily just the art, but also the process of making art. Of how the artists, where they create, what their method and process and how they paint or what kind of paints they use,” Dovidio said.

“Solar Storm” – acrylic on canvas by Diane Novetsky.

Somerville Open Studios is a decentralized art exhibition where artists gather in different venues around Somerville to display their art and interact with fellow Somervillians.

This year, five locations around Somerville will host these artists, Bow Market, Miller Street Studios, the Somerville Museum, Inside Out Gallery, and the Chase Young Gallery are all locations for the open studios.

In 2020, the event had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in 2021, the event had to be cut short due to a spike in cases in Somerville. According to Dovidio, the organization weathered the pandemic but not with a lack of hardship.

“We were lucky, a lot of nonprofits weren’t as lucky,” Dovidio said, “It’s very hard to get back to the momentum, I think our biggest loss is with volunteers, getting people activated.”

The event is slated to attract more than 300 artists. More information on artists and locations can be found at https://www.somervilleopenstudios.org/.

“Against the Grain #50” – woodcut monoprint, by Catherine Kernan, Mixit PrintStudio.