Somerville ARTFarm for Social Innovation

04/24/2026

Somerville Residents Good news: there’s still time to complete the CPA (Community Preservation Act) Survey. https://cityofsomerville.jotform.com/250496011092854

If you’ve done so, kudos! If not, it takes less than a minute. Take a moment to support crucial ArtFarm funding and ensure the project stays on target.

The survey gives you three ways to support ArtFarm:

-- Select “ArtFarm” if you participated in public engagement for its design.

-- Add “ArtFarm” to the fill in the blank question that asks: “CPA funds can be used to create, expand, improve or rehabilitate parks, open spaces and recreational amenities…”

-- Keep in mind that ArtFarm will be supported by the “Open Space and Recreation” category and the percentages you choose.

ArtFarm will be a game changer for Somerville’s quality of life and its artistic vitality. Let's make sure decision-makers know we're behind it. Thanks!

04/05/2026

Help Secure ArtFarm Funding: Fill Out the CPA Survey Now!

As many of you know, ArtFarm — the arts and green space project planned for the Poplar Street pump station site — is actively pursuing CPA (Community Preservation Act) funding. This is a real opportunity to help move the project forward, and one of the best things we can do right now is fill out the CPA survey.

It takes just a few minutes, and our voices as artists and residents in the Brickbottom district carry real weight. The more responses they see supporting ArtFarm, the stronger the case for funding. (ArtFarm is listed in the second group of questions.)

👉 https://cityofsomerville.jotform.com/250496011092854

There will also be a public hearing for CPA coming up — more details to follow on that. But for now, please take a moment to fill out the survey and share this post widely!

ArtFarm has the potential to be a true civic landmark for our neighborhood and all of Somerville. Let's make sure decision-makers know we're behind it.

03/02/2026

Last month many concerned and curious citizens attended the February 9th meeting at Triangle Coffee Bar as City of Somerville staff presented the latest vision for ArtFarm. You can access the plan here: https://voice.somervillema.gov/poplar-artfarm

City of Somerville Planner Alison Maurer noted the plan’s objective is to “create an effective canvas where art can grow.” Yes!

The current vision includes an outdoor theater and stage, community gardening, gathering spaces, a walking loop, a pop up gallery, a picnic grove, art nodes and more.

In a lively Q&A that followed, community members voiced their concerns and suggestions, including:

- When viewing the plan for the first time, some wondered if the site was over-planned and over-paved.

- While the current plan includes infrastructure for art display throughout the 2.2 acre site, there is a need for dedicated space/infrastructure that supports art-making.

- The Pump Station structure, which will occupy one-third of the site, provides an opportunity for a mural facing McGrath Highway. Rather than it being permanent and static, the suggestion was to make it changeable and dynamic.

- The presentation positioned ArtFarm as a gateway to Somerville, with the “entrance” on the McGrath Highway side. However many visitors will come from the East Somerville T stop (the Linwood side of the Park).

- Relocate the infrastructure and port-a-potties that are currently placed along the Linwood St. side of the park to the Pump Station area.

- Instead of the planned port-a-potties, create a permanent bathroom on site (a good example: Cambridge Commons).

Add your thoughts/ideas/concerns in comments - watch meeting video here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf9h49u6Uf4

Thanks!

02/01/2026

With the Community Design meeting coming up next week, we wanted to share a document created to help the Brickbottom artist community prepare for collaboration with the city. Some have found it helpful, so we are sharing it here.

This project has been in development for over a decade — a lot has changed in Somerville, with the project itself, and with the community and its needs.

Your voice and collaborative energy matter more than ever. We hope this overview document on the project's evolution helps offer some useful historical context heading into these conversations.

Shared with Dropbox

01/27/2026

ArtFarm Advocates!
Attend the ArtFarm Park Design Community Meeting

When: February 9th, 6-7:30pm
Where: Triangle Cafe, 100 Chestnut Street, Somerville MA

Join the conversation and get an update on the current plans for ArtFarm. Your voice matters. See more details below.

05/29/2025

ArtFarm: A #1 Priority

Great news from Ecological Restoration Planner Alison Maurer and the City of Somerville’s Office Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD): the ArtFarm plan is underway and being reviewed.

Born out of many community discussions, workshops and much negotiation over the past 10 years, ArtFarm’s innovative vision has received generous funding from the State of Massachusetts and ArtPlace America. It is time to move to the next phase and the city of Somerville is doing its part.

The city has listed ArtFarm as #1 in their Open Space & Recreation Plan: 2024-2031 projects. See chart below - taken from the full document.

In addition to the planned art and urban-ag features, ArtFarm, which is to be built atop the Poplar Street Pump Station, now presents an exciting opportunity to educate the public about climate change and how projects big and small can contribute to a greener world. (More trees!) Additionally, there is an opportunity to connect to the rich history of the Brickbottom District and the peoples that came before.

Public engagement planning will start soon. Next steps will be posted as plans progress – let’s go!

08/24/2024

The cranes are out in full force these days at the future ArtFarm site in the Brickbottom Arts District. But don’t come looking for common grus grus just yet.

After some initial stops and starts, construction of the massive Poplar Street Pump Station is fully underway.

One of the biggest public works projects the New England area has ever seen, the concrete-lined crater, excavated at 40 feet deep and170 feet in diameter, will hold four million gallons of stormwater. That’s one heck of a pool.

The water management project will mitigate flood risks across Wards Two and Three. As such, it will serve as a significant environmental community resource for generations to come.

As City of Somerville Project Manager Jonathan Smith noted in the project’s March 2023 kickoff, the cistern will help reduce sewage runoff in nearby Mystic, Alewife and Charles waterways as well as enable planned development throughout the city via stormwater offsets.

Slated to launch in Q4 2025 the project is likely to run into 2026.

While Brickbottom locals endure road closures and massive machinery as the project continues, we remain focused on what comes next: ArtFarm. What excites you most about the amazing evolution of this former garbage transfer site?

04/14/2021

UPDATE: Join Us WED 4/14 6PM to Review New ArtFarm Pump Station
Learn more & register for this Zoom call at
somervillema.gov/poplar

09/17/2020

The diverse voices of artists from the black, Indigenous, and people of color community need to be heard. The Somerville Arts Council BIPOC grants are specially targeted to make the work of these artists more visible. Learn more and tell friends about it: https://somervilleartscouncil.org/bipoc

09/17/2020

COVID has had a terrible impact on our arts and cultural institutions -- especially the smaller local organizations. There is a new SAC grant program that aims to help. Please review and share with those organizations that need a helping hand as we work through these challenging days. https://somervilleartscouncil.org/covidgrant