Arthur Holmes Jr. (Hopi), Broken Arrow, 2021 winner of Best of Classification for Wooden Pueblo Figurative Carvings and Sculpture; photo Daniel Nadelbach Photography for SWAIA
Rhonda Holy Bear (Cheyenne River Lakota), Lakota Honor—Sees the Horses Woman, 2021 Best of Show winner; photo Daniel Nadelbach Photography for SWAIA
Jewelry vendor (1971), Negative No. 190706; courtesy of Palace of the Governors Photo Archives
Vendors under Palace of the Governors portal (1952), Negative No. 183510; courtesy of Palace of the Governors Photo Archives
Potter Margaret Tafoya from Santa Clara Pueblo (1971); photo courtesy of Palace of the Governors Photo Archives, Negative No. 190688
Arthur Holmes Jr. (Hopi), Broken Arrow, 2021 winner of Best of Classification for Wooden Pueblo Figurative Carvings and Sculpture; photo Daniel Nadelbach Photography for SWAIA
▼ Southwestern Association for Indian Arts
▼ Through 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21
▼ Santa Fe Plaza and nearby streets
▼ For details on SWAIA events and related exhibitions and events, see Pages 48-64
For a map of Indian Market and a list of the participating artists, go to swaia.org or pick up the organization’s magazine at the market on Saturday, Aug. 20, and Sunday, Aug.21.
Didn’t get enough of the Indian Market stories and information in Pasatiempo? Head to the Aug. 12 edition of Legacy magazine, a guide to Indig…
A century ago, two drivers of Santa Fe tourism — a glittering, luxurious hotel and a celebration of the region’s rich Indigenous arts culture, that was the forerunner to the Santa Fe Indian Market — helped put the historic city on the modern map.
In 1922, the current version of La Fonda opened, drawing visitors who came via the train station in Lamy from points afar. The same year, the Southwest Indian Fair was held across three days in the Santa Fe Armory, near the Palace of the Governors. It featured about 3,500 artworks.
Indian Market, which is put on by the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, has grown to become the world’s largest juried Indigenous art show, and its 100th anniversary celebration marks a return to normalcy after two years of pandemic restrictions. The market, which draws an estimated 100,000-plus people each year, is a noisy collision of free events — the main and many related markets, dances and demonstrations, ticketed showcases, and gallery openings — amid a crush of enthusiasts eager to be inspired. As artists mass in Santa Fe, unaffiliated and spontaneous ancillary events also pop up.
The work of more than 800 artists, representing more than 250 tribes, will be featured in the market, which runs through Sunday, Aug. 21.
That’s a far cry from a century ago, when just a few tribes were involved, says Bruce Bernstein, who served as SWAIA’s executive director from 2007 to 2012. He has helped with the market as a volunteer since 1980.
Disagreements among organizers have threatened the market’s existence multiple times, and most of its growth has occurred in recent decades, he says.
“If you went to market in 1922, and then came to market in 1962, it’d be about the same size,” Bernstein says. “It hadn’t really transformed in the way that we think about it now.”
Santa Fe didn’t embrace the market in its early days. Native people only were allowed to use one bathroom in the city, and they weren’t welcomed in stores or restaurants, Bernstein says.
“It was a big, ongoing problem for people to come to town and be so unwelcome.”
Vendors under Palace of the Governors portal (1952), Negative No. 183510; courtesy of Palace of the Governors Photo Archives
That has changed — like so many other facets of Santa Fe and the market.
Painter Avis Charley (Spirit Lake Dakota/Diné) was so impressed with her Santa Fe Indian Market experience as a visitor in 2008 that she moved here from the Los Angeles area. She has lived in Santa Fe on and off since.
Rhonda Holy Bear (Cheyenne River Lakota), Lakota Honor—Sees the Horses Woman, 2021 Best of Show winner; photo Daniel Nadelbach Photography for SWAIA
“I couldn’t believe how magical the whole town was — just the vibration and the energy,” Charley says. “And that actually motivated me to go back to school [at the Institute of American Indian Arts], because I’ve always been an artist.”
Within two years of moving here, she was showing her work at the market, a tradition she’ll continue this year.
George Alexander (Muscogee Creek), a painter and acrylic artist who owns Ofuskie studio in downtown Santa Fe, says dealing with the massive crowds was anxiety-inducing when he started showing his work five years ago.
“But then, as I continued, it became more exciting than anything, and it’s definitely helped me develop a way to talk about my artwork,” he says.
Another adjustment: Alexander no longer frets if his work doesn’t sell quickly. While most artists aim to make a year’s expenses in sales, it doesn’t all come at the market itself.
“I’ve come to understand that not every [sale] happens on the weekend, and sometimes the collector [who saw] a piece at the market will have to think about it and, like, a month will go by” before the collector expresses interest, he says.
Jewelry vendor (1971), Negative No. 190706; courtesy of Palace of the Governors Photo Archives
Kim Peone (Colville Confederated Tribes and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), executive director of SWAIA, knows that all too well. She says the behind-the-scenes elements of the market are as chaotic as what’s visible to the public. In fact, SWAIA begins accepting applications for the following market in November. And it’s currently planning its Winter Indian Market, Peone says. It also is planning a market in October to run in tandem with the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
“I feel that people think that this is just a once-a-year event for an organization, when in reality, we are super busy with building partnerships,” she says. “So yeah, I think that a lot of people think this is an easy task, and I will say that I’ve managed multimillion-dollar companies, and this is the hardest job I’ve ever done.” Peone joined SWAIA in April 2020.
Digitizing the jurying process was among the recent offseason challenges, she says. The upgrade, which allows for remote jurying, was born out of necessity as the market went online-only in 2020 and operated in a hybrid format in 2021, putting scaled-back offerings on jurors’ computer or phone screens.
Potter Margaret Tafoya from Santa Clara Pueblo (1971); photo courtesy of Palace of the Governors Photo Archives, Negative No. 190688
In 2020, organizers interviewed 1,000 artists who had been part of the market through the years, Peone says. Only 77 had websites showcasing their work.
“We ended up adding 458 additional websites for our artists,” Peone says. “What we hope to do is really build an economy for Native artists, by using SWAIA as a brand, from [a search engine optimization] perspective.”
In the meantime, Charley says she will enjoy taking a break from studio solitude to interact with the throngs of visitors.
“It’s a happy time for everyone, not just artists,” she says. “The whole city’s going to be on a high vibration.”
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