“Instinct to Dream (II)” by Rachel Mello, hanging installed at Diesel Café. — Photo courtesy of Gretchen Graham.

By Haley ED Houseman

Somerville Open Studios kicked off on Friday, April 8, with the SOS Volunteer Show opening at Diesel Cafe. While the reception for the show was celebrated in style on the 15th, the show will be up until May 20.

The SOS weekend and surrounding events are organized and executed entirely by volunteers, Somerville artist and resident Rachel Mello conceived the idea to include the contribution of the dedicated volunteers who make the show possible.

Since 2010 the organization honors their contribution with an exhibit showcasing the artwork of the volunteers, with the help of a dedicated team of coordinators, many of which are artists themselves.

Managed by Christina Tedesco, they make sure the many events of SOS unfold over the course of the next month and a half with admirable precision.

With no limit on the size of the works for the Volunteer Show, contributors rose to the challenge to fill the cavernous space of Diesel Cafe. “You don’t realize how much space there actually is,” enthused Gretchen Graham, the volunteer show coordinator.

Melissa London is the show’s co-coordinator, helping to make sure the show runs smoothly. No volunteer’s work is turned away, and the show affords art lovers who make SOS possible a chance to participate in the event they facilitate with sweat and hours. Any sales made of work go entirely to the artists, creating a business opportunity out the volunteer experience. Twenty-nine volunteers are exhibiting this year, many of which are SOS participants.

Graham, like many of the volunteers, is also an artist sharing her studio in the Open Studios weekend, and a long time participant in the events. “The best thing about the experience of SOS is meeting the public. People really like to meet the artists, to see the process, to interact directly.”

Respectful and engaged, the crowd drawn by SOS is quite unique. It’s one of the largest events of its kind in the country with over 400 participating artists displaying their work every spring.

SOS will be developing as more shows open in anticipation of the big weekend, Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1. For an overview of the artists participating, or for those who can’t make it to the hundreds of studios in one weekend, the Artists Choice Exhibit opened April 17 and will run until May 21 at the Somerville Museum, featuring a spread of the artists’ most exciting works before opening their studios at the end of the month.

Other shows include the Inside Out Gallery at CVS, open to the public April 1–May 2, with a sidewalk reception on April 20. There will be a Kids’ Art Show at the Arts at the Armory Café, April 25 to May 7, with a cupcake reception the final afternoon of the show.

As SOS is a nonprofit and volunteer effort, there will be a Flatbread SOS Fundraiser on Tuesday, April 26 at Flatbread/Sacco’s Bowl-Haven to raise money to keep SOS rolling in the future.

A variety of complementary programing is also scheduled, including a short film festival, a bike tour, and a large celebration to close out the exhibition weekend on May 1, all of which can be found on Somerville Open Studio’s website  www.somervilleopenstudios.org.