Somerville, Mass – Somerville was in the news while we were away. Not so much because of the rash of house fires (nine over the summer, four of which are confirmed arson cases), although that’s certainly what Somerville residents are talking about. But the bigger story in the Boston Globe was this Style-section gem that asks if Somerville is “growing too hip“.
Never mind that this isn’t new nor is it newsworthy – case in point as to why we canceled our subscription to the Boston Globe. (I liked my friend’s Facebook comment that he mistook this for an article in The Onion.)
But the article does bring some attention to the latest and greatest attraction in Somerville – right here in Union Square – the Micro Museum. At 10 inches x 16 inches x 8 inches, it fits snugly into the wall space between The Independent and Subway sandwich shop. According to the press release, it is “possibly the smallest museum in the world.”
The symbol µ means “micro”, as in the metric-system prefix for “one-millionth”, so the sign says “Mµseum”.
While shopping at the Union Square Farmers Market today, we checked out the inaugural exhibit, Invisible Cities. This tiny exhibit includes six pieces by local artists that “explore the intricacies of the urban environment.” It was surprisingly intriguing, with paintings focusing on both minute details and broad depictions of the city.
The twins were intrigued for approximately 10 seconds before they got distracted by the baskets of cherry tomatoes for sale nearby. (Well, it is a small exhibit.)
Incidentally, the museum website claims that Somerville has the second highest number of artists per capita of any city in the United States. If it’s true, somebody should write an article about that.