A downtown-wide sidewalk sale, anchored by the half-price work of Arts of the Pamlico’s member artists, is back for a repeat performance.

AOP has issued a call for the work of AOP members who are artists and of the mind to clean out their collections on the walls or supplies on their shelves.

“Some of it could be pieces that they haven’t shown in long time or studies that they’ve done. The only thing we ask is that our artists be willing to let everything go at half the value,” said Thad Aley, AOP’s events and exhibits coordinator. “We’re able to get some of these artists who are willing to go through what they have and move it to make space for more art.”

From Thursday to Saturday, member artists are invited to drop off their work at AOP’s Turnage Theatre. There, they will name the price a piece would normally sell for, which will be marked down by 50% when the sale starts, according to Aley. A preview of the sidewalk sale, located in the Art Café, starts Aug. 7, during the opening reception for AOP’s annual juried photography show.

“We’re going to fill up the Art Café. We’ll have tables laid out with prints and art supplies. The preview will be Aug. 7-9, at full price, and on the 10th, everything will be on sale for the month,” Aley said.

Aug. 10, prices will drop, and other downtown merchants will host their own sidewalk sales simultaneously, Aley said.

While the sale started two years with AOP staff cleaning out its own storage spaces at the Turnage, it has evolved into an event the AOP arts community can join.

“We’re doing this for our artists as a way to help them out and also fill in what we can sell,” Aley said. “We did it last year, and it was really successful even though it was a drizzly day.”

Aley said it’s also an opportunity to start a collection or fill out a collection with quality pieces from local artists.

“It’s really some great work. Some of the artists are at the end of their careers, some at the beginning of their careers and don’t know how great they are yet — it’s a way to collect art from both generations,” Aley said. “And who doesn’t love a sale?”