“Can a community of people make an experiential art space free for artists for a year?” This is the central question being asked as part of Bow Market’s “A Year of Experiential Art” (YEA), Bow’s latest effort to bring boundary pushing art to Somerville.

The pitch to artists is simple: use space to bring experiential art to Somerville; pay $0 in rent. To make it sustainable, Bow Market is working to attract roughly 300 people to pay $100 to become a 2027 Patron. As patrons, they’ll receive access to artist-led events, exclusive merch, name recognition outside the YEA space, and inclusion in this burgeoning arts community.

“We’ve always understood art as a cornerstone of Bow Market’s success and this is our most full-throated attempt yet to answer the question of how artists might afford to stay in Somerville,” says Co-owner Zach Baum.

The “Year of Experiential Art” (YEA) is the latest in a series of projects focused on giving opportunities to artists to make money. From 2018 when Exit Galleries opened to 2024’s “Your Art Here” mural commission which provided funding to Sabrina Gonzalez, to 2025 when the Somerville Art Fair began. The Get Artist Paid (GAP) project began in 2019 as what could be called the precursor to YEA .The ThotBot Implantation Center became the first of 10 artists to receive free rent. Rebecca Kopycinski was later joined by artists including Emily Falcigno, Babisa Adumbire, Jay Cadwaller, Colgan Johnson, and Kit Collins.

“Experiential artists thrive when they have the flexibility to take risks and explore within their practice. That flexibility happens through access to space for more than just a night, especially for performance-based, immersive, audience driven art. With fewer dedicated art spaces and the increased uncertainty around sustainable government funding, we’re hoping this new patron funded space at Bow Market can move the needle towards a sustainable way for artists to test their ideas, directly engage with audiences, and make money from their work,” says Carlie Febo, Bow Market’s Director of Marketing and Photography.

The YEA space will take the same place guests could see installations like Jaina Cipriano’s What Are You Afraid Of?, the return of Kopycinski’s ThotBot Implantation Center, Bryce Flint-Somerville’s “Have You Seen It,”  Rae Case’s “Opening Night,” and Amanda Macchia’s Saturated

To learn more and become a Patron visit www.bowmarketsomerville.com/experientialart, for more information on becoming an artist in residence visit https://www.bowmarketsomerville.com/yea-artist-faq.