Artists, arts organizations, and the business community are joining the free movement that builds off Black Friday and Small Business Saturday to brand the Sun. after Thanksgiving as the biggest art shopping day of the year.

Artists Sunday, a new movement to drive art sales and support the livelihoods of millions of U.S. artists, artisans and craftspeople, will premiere Sun., Nov. 29, 2020, thanks to Northeast Ohio nonprofits ArtsNow and Crafty Mart.

Artists Sunday aims to build from the well-known holiday shopping-focused days of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, to make the Sun. after Thanksgiving the most profitable day of the year for artists. More than 300 local arts agencies, cities, states, counties, and nonprofit organizations—representing thousands of artists across the country—have already joined the nationwide alliance.

“Supporting our artist entrepreneurs and small business owners has never been more important,” said Nicole Mullet, executive director of ArtsNow. “We are working alongside Crafty Mart to ensure that Summit County shows-up for the arts this Nov.”

Christopher Sherman, a working artist who founded the effort, said Artists Sunday aims to help boost sales and exposure for artists—many of whom are now struggling amid the COVID-19 crisis—while also benefiting consumers who have had limited opportunities to purchase art at festivals, galleries, and shows.

“The idea for Artists Sunday was born before COVID-19 hit, but the challenges created by the pandemic have added new relevance and urgency to what we aim to achieve,” Sherman said. “Many artists made a living by hitting weekend arts festivals, or presenting their work at shows and galleries – all activities that have largely screeched to a halt since March.”

The effort is supported by a national public relations campaign aimed both at significantly growing the number of artists and organizations participating prior to Nov. 29, as well as at reaching beyond traditional art buyers to attract new customers across the country.

How Artists Can Participate

Artists, artisans, and craftspeople can sign up for a free listing in the Artists Sunday directory, which helps consumers find artists by name, type of work and city, state and country. Links to each artist’s Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts are included in the listings.

Participating artists get access to a comprehensive toolkit that offers up advice and templates to support marketing, and public relations efforts, as well as e-commerce tips to improve and accelerate the sales process.

“Crafty Mart is proud to partner with ArtsNow to promote Artists Sunday,” states Marissa McClellan, executive director of Crafty Mart. “We’re happy that shoppers want to prioritize buying local art, as it helps support our local artists, artisans, and makers. An easy way to buy from artists in our area is participating in our virtual Shop Holiday Handmade event. Shopping local makes such a difference, and who doesn’t want more art?”

How Your Organization Can Participate

Local arts districts, state agencies, counties, chambers of commerce, national organizations, associations, municipalities, and nonprofit community groups across the country can show their support by completing a brief form identifying them as a partner in this work: artistssunday.com/partner.

County of Summit became an early adopter of this effort in the continued efforts to support the arts in Summit County.

“Providing support to the arts community has been a priority in Summit County since this pandemic started, said Executive Ilene Shapiro of the County of Summit. “As we enter the holiday season, I encourage everyone to celebrate our local artists, artisans and craftspeople by participating in Artist Sunday.”

For more information visit: shoplocal2020.com/RSVPnow.