For Artists
2025 Open Studio Event
As long as you live in or maintain a studio or an exhibition space in Somerville and create visual art, you are welcome to become a participating member of SOS. Our next event will be on May 3 & 4, 2025 (always the first weekend in May). Registration is now open until February 15, 2025.
SOS will once again provide a Community Space at the Armory for artists who live in or maintain a studio in Somerville but are unable to show out of their homes or studio.
The SOS 2025 Artwear fashion show will take place on Friday, May 2, 2025 at the Crystal Ballroom in Davis Square. If you’d like to participate, please fill out this form.
SOS produces several group shows every spring, including the non-juried SOS First Look Show at the Somerville Museum, and the one-night-only Artwear fashion show. See our archived SOS 2024 For Artists page for information on the shows we produced in April and May of 2024.
Follow our calendar for future events of interest to SOS artists.
SOS Program Grants
SOS Program Grants provide participating artists with support to produce complementary public events as part of SOS, taking place during or leading up to SOS weekend. What idea would you like to make happen as part of SOS? For more information, see our Program Grants page. Deadline for application is Saturday, February 15.
Join our mailing list
To be notified about SOS 2025 registration and other SOS-related events, please join our mailing list. Make sure to select “Potential SOS Member Artist” when you enter your information. If you would consider pitching in, just select “SOS Volunteer Crew” as well.
Be a volunteer!
Somerville Open Studios is produced each year by a crew of committed artists and art lovers who volunteer their time. Consider volunteering. More information on volunteering is here.
Please let us know what you’d like to do by filling out the SOS Volunteer Opportunities form or email volunteer@somervilleopenstudios.org. Even if you can only spare a few hours, we’d love to have your help!
Artist news
As we begin planning for SOS 2025, we will post Calls for Art below.
- SOS 2025 January Kickoff Party
Please join us for the official kickoff to SOS 2025 on Thursday, January 23, from 6-9 pm, at Bow Market Upstairs (second floor). Enjoy a drink and delicious snacks from Bow Market vendors. Meet fellow artists and volunteers who will be participating in SOS 2025.
- February 2025 Planning Meeting
The next planning meeting for SOS 2025 will be Wednesday, February 5, at Dan Coughlin’s studio, 86 Joy Street. Pizza and drinks at 6:30 pm; meeting starts at 7 pm.
- Artwear: The SOS 2025 Fashion Show
Crystal Ballroom • 55 Davis Square (Somerville Theatre building)
Friday May 2, 2025 • Doors open 6 pm, show begins at 7 pmThe term Artwear refers to clothing and other wearables designed as conceptual or fine art. Artwear operates outside of the boundaries normally presented in fashion to favor an approach that prioritizes style and vision.
In past years, SOS has provided the public with a fashion show titled Beyond the Pattern to kick off open studios weekend. This show made it possible for textile artists to be included in open studios in a way that was more conducive to their art form than a studio opening or a gallery. In 2024, SOS produced the first fashion show since the pandemic with a rebranding of Artwear.
This year, the SOS fashion show will once again be held at the Crystal Ballroom in Davis Square on Friday, May 2nd 2025. The Crystal Ballroom is directly above the Somerville Theatre. Doors open at 6pm for cocktail hour with the show beginning at 7pm; seating is first come, first served. The venue will have a full bar and runway seating. The event is free for the public to view original textile art by Somerville artists!
To participate in the 2025 fashion show, fill out this form
Planning Meeting – Join us!
We have officially started planning our 2025 Fashion Show! Our next planning meeting is on Monday, February 10th from 6:30-7:30pm. The meeting will be held at Café Zing at 25 White St inside the Porter Square Shopping Center. You are welcome to arrive early to grab a seat and a beverage. During this meeting, we will follow an agenda to describe the event and we will leave time to answer all your questions. This will be a great way to meet your fellow designers and volunteers!! We are very excited to meet you and work together. All are welcome.
Tips For Showing Artists
Heather Balchunas of the Somerville Arts Council and Alison Drasner of the Somerville Museum have produced a list of Top 10 Tips to Have a Successful Open Studios. See also the Artists’ Tookit pages on the Museum website for more tips.