Anne Continelli’s documentary interviews the founders of Vernon Street Studios, the largest artists workspace community in Somerville.

As part of #ARTSTAYSHERE’s Faces, Places & Spaces exhibiton at Somerville Museum this summer, join in Wednesday, July 29, 2026 from 6 p.m. –  8 p.m. for a screening of the docutmenary short & panel discussion about the founding of Somerville’s Vernon Street Studios by Anne Continelli.

Can a small group of artists transform a former industrial city into a culturally rich, vibrant community? In Somerville, MA, 1974, a handful of artists rolled up their sleeves and converted one floor of a run-down warehouse into artist studios. Composed mostly of women, this group had to learn construction and renovation. The subsequent studio space, known as Vernon Street Studios, started an artist migration into the formerly industrial city that recast it into a multicultural, desirable greater Boston community. Today, artists are facing displacement due to skyrocketing costs. Interviews with some of the original artists and current artists tell the story, combined with verité footage of Open Studios today, stock footage, and Creative Commons archival educational videos used to recreate past events. Anne Continelli is a freelance video producer and editor whose documentaries include the rescue of Brookline’s beloved Coolidge Corner Theater. Learn more here: annemcontinelli.com