Central Street
Studios
Location: Somerville, Massachusetts
Central Street Studios is a four-story artist workspace in Somerville with a 40-year history as a home for working artists. Originally founded in 1983, the building has long served as an affordable, community-driven makerspace. In April 2026, with support from the City of Somerville, the A&BC acquired the property to ensure this legacy continues for the next generation of artists.
All photos courtesy of Sasha Pedro
Property Area
8,500 SF
Building Area
25
Work-only studio spaces
Illustration, sculpture, floral design, jewelry, printmaking, music, painting, photography, video installation, writing, and fiber arts
A longstanding creative community
Central Street Studios is fully occupied by approximately 25 artists working across a wide range of disciplines. The building reflects the diversity and depth of Somerville’s creative community.
Disciplines represented include illustration, sculpture, floral design, jewelry, printmaking, music, painting, photography, video installation, writing, and fiber arts. This mix of practices creates a dynamic environment where ideas, techniques, and perspectives intersect.
Central Street Studios was founded by artists Paul and Karen Morse, alongside Nancy Dutton and David Bensen, with a clear goal: to create a stable, affordable place for artists to work and grow.
That mission has guided the space for over four decades and remains central today. The building itself is modest in scale but powerful in impact. It has supported generations of artists in building sustainable practices in a city where creative space is increasingly difficult to secure.
Spaces like Central Street Studios are foundational to a thriving arts ecosystem. They provide not just room to work, but continuity, community, and the conditions necessary for creative careers to take root and grow.
Preserving what matters
The acquisition of Central Street Studios by the A&BC represents a broader commitment to protecting artist workspace in Somerville.
By securing the building, the Arts & Business Council is ensuring long-term stability for the artists who depend on it, while preserving an important piece of the city’s creative infrastructure.
Spaces like Central Street Studios are foundational to a thriving arts ecosystem. They provide not just room to work, but continuity, community, and the conditions necessary for creative careers to take root and grow.
In a rapidly changing real estate landscape, preserving these spaces is essential. Central Street Studios is proof that small, artist-centered spaces can have an outsized impact the right stewardship, they can continue to do so for decades to come.
See the Space
Press
Potential Central Street Studios purchase could be an arts preservation precedent for Somerville
Cambridge Day | April 8, 2025
Greater Boston joins the cultural land trust movement
WBUR | April 3, 2025
Three-dozen artists and musicians launch fundraiser to support preservation of their workspaces in Somerville
The Somerville Times | March 30, 2025
Longtime owners of Somerville’s Central Street Studios set to sell to the Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston
The Boston Globe | March 25, 2025