Americans for the Arts

What started as a small, local celebration of arts and artists in December 2016, and grew to a statewide Louisiana initiative in 2017, is now entering its second year as National Shop Local Artists Week, an arts advocacy event embraced and promoted by Americans for the Arts.

Considering that communities understand the importance of “Shop Local” and “Small Business Week,” creative professionals often are overlooked, other than when organizations need donations of time and talents for fundraisers. National Shop Local Artists Week events are designed to broaden awareness of the importance of supporting creatives, advocating for artists of all genres as small businesses, and recognizing arts organizations as instrumental components of the local culture. Consumers are encouraged to personalize their holiday gifting by purchasing visual arts, works by local authors, music recordings and concert tickets, attending performing arts presentations, and supporting local arts organizations and museums via memberships.

The initiative was elevated to national status by Americans for the Arts in October 2018, and just six weeks later, cultural entities around the United States celebrated the holiday shopping season with local pop up exhibitions, festivals, art markets, cultural presentations, and atypical integrations of artists into local business establishments. Restaurants provided one-day artist showcases; galleries hosted readings by local authors; community theatres hosted artists in their lobbies prior to performances; and business professionals hosted wine and cheese receptions in their workplaces featuring local musicians, visual artists, and literary artists. Among the most popular events were book readings by local children’s authors, giving the little ones an opportunity to experience the storytelling and meet the talented creatives who brought those stories to life.

In Slidell, Louisiana, the birthplace of the Shop Local Artists Week movement, Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser and Randy Cohen, Americans for the Arts’ Vice President of Research and Policy, joined the business community at a State of the Arts luncheon celebrating the growth of the program to the national level. Randy then enjoyed an opportunity to visit the art gallery on the first floor of City Hall and a tour of murals throughout the city’s Main Street and Cultural District. Part of his tour included a visit to several of the landmarks which still bear indicators of the water lines during Hurricane Katrina, some six to seven feet high. This brought to mind how the arts were instrumental to the city’s recovery from that disaster—the arts rebuilt people’s spirits much like builders reconstructed homes and businesses.

Meanwhile, just west of Slidell, the second annual Holiday Festival of Arts brought together visual artists, arts organizations, and local musicians in the city of Covington’s Cultural and Historic District, providing an opportunity for locals and visitors to enjoy holiday shopping through the city’s Art Alley and several blocks of Columbia Street. The festival was marketed as an opportunity to complete holiday shopping early, spending four hours in three city blocks enjoying live music while exploring the talents of local creatives at a variety of price points.

Even though the national initiative was announced only six weeks prior to the designated event week, a perusal of the social media hashtag #ShopLocalArtistsWeek produced a plethora of posts by participating arts agencies and organizations in small towns and large cities throughout America.

With the second annual National Shop Local Artists Week less than a month away, communities are encouraged to continue the momentum with messaging about the importance of supporting local creatives with traditional and non-traditional opportunities. The long-term goal remains to generate top of mind awareness relative to the scope and depth of all genres of arts as unique gift offerings, and of creatives as invaluable cogs in the cultural economy—not only during the holiday season, but all year long. What can result is the understanding that as much as arts spark commerce, commerce sparks arts.