SAC’s Artist of the Month for May, 2013, Marjorie Gere, will join in on the celebration with her fellow Superstars this coming Sunday at the Arts at the Armory.

By Erica Scharn

On Sunday, December 1 at 7:30 p.m., the Somerville Arts Council (SAC) and the Artist of the Month coordinators invite the public to Somerville Superstars! A Celebration of 2013 Somerville Artists of the Month. This free event will be held at Arts at the Armory Café, located at 191 Highland Avenue in Somerville.

The celebration will feature the opportunity to meet the artists and the announcement of the December Artist of the Month. Free snacks will be provided and drinks can be purchased at the Café. The event will also have some “super special surprises,” said Tim Devin, SAC Board chair and local artist.

SAC’s Artist of the Month program showcases a different Somerville artist each month. Based on the Nave Gallery’s 2005-2009 “Featured Artist” program, Artist of the Month started in 2012 and featured its first artist in January 2013. Devin, volunteer Jenn Harrington (who was also involved in the Nave’s program), SAC Board members Valeria Amato and Michael J. Epstein, and Kellie Veiga coordinate the Artist of the Month program. The list of the 2013 Artists of the Month can be found below.

Devin said that the idea is to call attention to the range and diversity of talent in Somerville. The program features both established and emerging artists, and the artists include painters, musicians, writers, even a palindrome writer. Interviews with each artist and images of their work are posted to SAC’s website.

“There’s also people that are more involved in the community side of things,” said Devin. “The idea behind the series wasn’t just to present people who are doing their own work, which is really important and awesome, but also people who are a little behind the scenes as well.” He gave as examples musician/teacher Marcus Santos and Susan Berstler, a visual artist who is the director and founder of the Nave Gallery.

“We got a ton of nominations. Somerville has a very large creative population,” said Devin. Anyone can nominate somebody through the web form, and the artists are nominated on a yearly basis. Nominations for 2014 can be submitted here. Printed forms for nominations will also be available at Sunday’s event. A jury (composed of anonymous jurors since they are voting for and against people) then votes on the artists.

“There’s been really good feedback for the series. A lot of people learning about different things, different people they didn’t know about,” said Devin. “It’s been really exciting.”

Devin said that Sunday’s event is a way to celebrate and honor the artists, and encouraged all to join.

2013 Artists of the Month:

January: Susan Berstler

February: Marcus Santos

March: Resa Blatman

April: Ben Brooks

May: Marjorie Gere

June: Raul Gonzalez

July: Stephanie Melikian

August: Barry Duncan

September: Annie Silverman

October: Dan Blakeslee

November: Abbie Barrett

December: to be announced