ARTISTS WEEK In cities and towns around the United States, people frequently are encouraged to “Shop Local” to support the many businesses that are such a critical part of their communities’ identities. In November, the focus becomes “Small Business Week,” serving as an impetus for thinking small to produce big economic impact. And now, in Louisiana, the rally for support has been extended to the first full week of December, which now will be an annual, statewide celebration known as “Shop Local Artists Week.” In 2017, SLAW events will take place Dec. 3 to 9. Shop Local Artists Week is an evolution of an initiative born in 2009, by the East St. Tammany Cultural Economy Coalition. The mission of the CEC has been to bring together artists and cultural economy businesses to collaborate on ways to grow the arts and generate awareness as to the economic impact that arts bring to communities. The organization has since broadened its scope and changed its moniker to Northshore CEC, serving the entire parish. The organization celebrates every genre of the arts community, including visual artists, writers, musicians, actors and community theatres, dancers, culinary artists, healing arts and art therapists, filmmakers, graphic designers and more. Many of these professionals are called upon, week after week, with requests to donate their time, talent and creative products to numerous charitable events and causes. Yet all too often, they are offered little support in return. In December, 2016, CEC co-founder and chair Kim Bergeron offered a proposal to the East St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce, which hosts an arts market on the first floor of its building. The request was for an opportunity to create a “Shop Local Artists Weekend” featuring the marketplace artists, authors and book signings and promoting community theaters. “The idea behind that weekend was to plant the seed that art of all genres are an ideal option for unique holiday gifting,” said Bergeron. “The event provided an opportunity to meet the artists and buy their works, to meet local authors and give the gift of signed books, to purchase gift certificates for art classes and workshops, to pick up tickets to community theaters, and to encourage people not just to gift the tickets, but to actually bring someone with them to create memories around the experience. The ultimate goal was to encourage the gift of art, not just for the holiday season, but for all year long.”
EDGE Oct | Nov 2017
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