It looks like the Red Telephone Box Museum, Musée-Placard d’Erik Satie, Museum of Drawers, and Edgar’s Closet now have some competition for the “World’s Tiniest Museum” title. Located in Somerville, the gallery for Mµseum (the funny-looking “u” is a play on the Greek letter, which basically means “micro”)— also called the Micro Museum — is 16 inches wide, 8 inches deep, and 10 inches tall, with a traditional neo-classical facade featuring two tiny pillars and a rotating itsy bitsy space for New England artists. Tucked in a crack between a pub and a Subway sandwich shop in Union Square, the museum, which officially opened last month with a ceremony that used a little ribbon and a tiny pair of scissors, was inspired by founder Judith Klausner’s love for small, overlooked things. She calls it the “little non-spaces” of urban development, such as those “little bits and pieces of space that are either ignored, or filled up with trash.” She also wanted to provide a space for local art. Unlike most art galleries, Klausner negotiated permission from the owners of the neighboring buildings to use the space rent-free, while the lighting, powered by a solar panel, allows the museum to be open 24/7. The place is too small to have a real address, so good luck finding it without Google Maps. Oh, and you might want to bring a magnifying glass.
The Micro Museum – Mµseum, Somerville, Massachusetts
