World's Smallest Art Museum Opens in Union Square

Judith Klausner, one of the founders of the Somerville Micro Museum, also known as Mµseum, said it's probably the smallest art museum in the world.

At 10 inches by 8 inches by 16 inches, it's hard to think of a public gallery space that's smaller, especially one that has track lighting and wall space to hang six separate pieces of artwork.

By the way, the µ symbol, pronounced "mew," is "a Greek letter whose scientific meaning is 'micro,'" according to Mµseum's website.

Somerville Mayor Joesph Curtatone and a crowd of museum-goers gathered in Union Square Thursday evening to perform a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the museum and launch it's first exhibit, "Invisible Cities," which will be on display at Mµseum until Oct. 11.

Of course, it was a mini ribbon, and the mayor used mini scissors to cut it. He also gave "an official micro speech." It went like this: "Good evening. Thank you."

The Mµseum is located at 72½ Union Square, between The Independent and Subway. It's open 24 hours a day, and admission is free, so stop by whenever you want.

"Invisible Cities" features work by artists Mara Brod, Grace Durnford, Emily Garfield, and Ted Ollier.

Klausner said the exhibit explores themes of urban landscapes and scale.

Check out the video above, where Klausner and the Micro Museum's other founder, Steve Pomeroy, talk about the project.

You can learn more about Mµseum at its website. WBUR's The ARTery also has a good article about it.