Life Drawing Boston is drawing life to Somerville’s Inner Belt neighborhood and plans to do even more, adding regular entertainment such as performances, dances and variety shows. There’s “huge demand” for the expansion “from the community of artists as well from a community of audiences,” owner David London said.
The studio began in 2022 as a weekly residency at the cozy Gallery 263 in Cambridgeport, bringing in models who posed for artists to sketch. The popularity of the nights grew, and in 2024 the studio moved to a 3,800-square-foot industrial space at the Joy Street arts building.
A sitting at the 86 Joy St. studio now might bring in nearly 100 artists of varying abilities, many eager to socialize along with building their skills.
London’s interest in using LDB space for entertainment was foreshadowed as long ago as January 2025 in the Boston Art Review by writer (and sometime LDB model) Emma Breitman; After introducing variety nights to the lineup over the past months, London finally brought a full licensing request to the city of Somerville on Tuesday.
The licensing covers a variety of possible entertainments, from projection screens for performance art to poetry readings and plays. “This is not going to turn into a subterranean disco, right? It’s not going to be an after-hours club?” Licensing Commission chair Joe Lynch asked archly. London answered earnestly: “No, this is much more like for things like variety shows.”
Concerts, however, are on the palette of options, and London imagined seeking single-day alcohol permits for future special events. Art nights continue Mondays through Wednesdays, costing $15 at the door with supplies and snacks provided.
Commissioners approved the licensing unanimously – some conditions must still be met for fire department approval – after giving the public a chance to speak.
Some of the testimony came from fellow Inner Belt artists, who are delighted by London’s presence in the neighborhood.
Alexander Klotz, a resident of the nearby Brickbottom Artists building and organizer of its annual Open Studios event, led off by describing the changes since Life Drawing Boston opened.
“We’ve seen a real shift of energy in our neighborhood. They’ve created a very welcoming and accessible space for artists and younger folks, particularly people in their 20s and 30s, to find an entry point into the local arts and creative scene,” Klotz said. “It’s turned a sort of sleepier part of town into an area that people are actively looking to go to at various times of the day – but especially in the evening, which, as somebody that lives in the local community, I find really wonderful.”
This year saw 20 more artists participating in Open Studios who are also members of the Life Drawing Boston community, “the majority of which were young and emerging artists,” Klotz said. “We also saw a significant uptick in our visitorship.”
Comedian Aaron Morris said London’s studio “has become the most important community space for a lot of people in the Somerville, Boston and Cambridge area” and credited him with bringing in a “variety of talent and art that has been really eye-opening.”
“What they’re doing there is really, really special, and it’s something that I haven’t seen done anywhere else in this area,” Morris said. “It would be immeasurably impactful for the community if they can continue having such an inclusive and diverse space for artists.”
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