Santa Fe Indian Market will go ONLINE            

ALBUQUERQUE – Santa Fe Indian Market, billed as the one of the best, largest and oldest market of its kind, will take place on line this year.

For one weekend every August for the past 100 years, artists, musicians, film-makers and art lovers mingled around the Santa Fe Plaza and up and down surrounding streets where artists’ booths were set up showcasing pottery, textiles, jewelry, painting, sculpture, beadwork, and basketry –  traditional and contemporary. There were also musical performances on the plaza and auctions and films at venues around Santa Fe.

This year, due to fears of the spread of the coronavirus, the Board of Directors of Santa Fe Indian Market have arranged to put the Market online for the entire month of August.

Indian Market is run by the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts or SWAIA. All artwork is selected by jury and all artists must be enrolled members of a tribe. About 900 adult artists and 100 youth artists display their work and 100,000 visitors attend the event held the third weekend in August.

It was a difficult decision to cancel the Market on the plaza, said Amanda Crocker, Public Relations and Marketing Director of Indian Market.

“It was devastating for both the organization and the artists,” said Crocker in an email. “We knew we had to ‘stay the game’ and fulfill our mission and help artists during this time. Though all the elements are still coming together, the structure of the Virtual Indian Market is in place. The SWAIA website (SWAIA.org) will be the hub for all Virtual Indian Market content which will include e-commerce sites for all artists, fashion components, a Native Cinema Showcase, artist talks, auctions, panel discussions and more. There will be programming for the entire month of August to keep visitors coming back to the site time and time again.”

The artists can create personal e-commerce websites to make sales directly to clients on the SWAIA website, Crocker said. Artists who were juried into this summer’s Market last winter are eligible to participate in the virtual Market as are those who were on the waiting list. They have until June 30^th to sign up. Visitors to the Market will not pay a fee to participate. They will purchase items from the artists with a credit card.

Visitors looking for a specific artist can find a section on the website called “2020 artists.” They can also shop by classification of artwork such as jewelry, pottery, or painting. Links on the website will take viewers to music, fashion show and film sections of the Market.

There will be a feature called “virtual booth hopping” on the weekend that would have been the live Market (August 15 and 16) when artists are encouraged to sit at home and welcome visitors. This can be done by zoom, Google Hangouts or by phone, said Crocker.  Links on the website will take viewers to music, fashion show and film sections.

“We feel that serving artists in this manner – helping them create strong online presences goes beyond a necessary reaction to COVID,” said Crocker. “We believe it will serve them well beyond this summer, and help them create a more sustainable and diverse business model.”

SWAIA is collaborating with the Clark Hulings Fund for Visual Arts on this year’s Market. The Fund helps artists showcase and sell their artwork and provides training and support, said Crocker.

“Artists have expressed relief and excitement to have an outlet to sell their work after having many of their shows cancelled. Some artists make as much as 90 percent of their annual income at Santa Fe Indian Market so we hope to help ease that pain,” she said. “Our regular visitors are disappointed of course but many have written in to thank us for the opportunity to support their favorite artists and enjoy some of the programming they have come to look forward to every year. Going virtual also means we can reach a whole new audience and that is fantastic for the artists.”

Brent Learned, (Cheyenne Arapaho) from Oklahoma has been showing and selling his paintings at Indian Market since 1994.

“It’s a nice pivot for SWAIA to do this instead of people coming from all over the world to Santa Fe,” said Learned in a telephone interview. “Santa Fe Market is the cream of the crop for artists. It’s the pinnacle, the best, the Super Bowl of Indian art.  Artists strive to get in. People (buying art) get up at 5 a.m. to search for their favorite artist. The majority of artists make their yearly income at Indian Market.

He said he talked to SWAIA organizers about putting the Market on line this year.

“Artists look to SWAIA as an example of what to do. They keep the flame alive with the outreach of the Internet. Other art markets I went to were canceled. No other art market was going online. They were shut down or canceled. SWAIA took the extra step to have a virtual market.  They stepped up and said let’s go ahead for this year. It’s good for people who want their Native American art fix. It’s a way art lovers can find out what’s out there for this year. Many artists get 75 to 90 percent of their income from the Santa Fe Indian Market.”

Since the pandemic, Learned has used social media more to advertise his artwork on his website, and on Instagram, he said.

Instead of packing his artwork and driving to Santa Fe Learned said “I can sit in my living room in Oklahoma and not worry about getting the virus.”

“This year’s Market gives the lover of Native artwork the opportunity to support an artist. It gives new hope for the artist. Until we get back to normal, people around the world can purchase art work. Some art lovers have never been to Santa Fe. Here is a chance to go without leaving their house. They are able to do it at home with the click of a button day or night. It’s more than the two-day event of (the previous) Indian Market. “

In addition to his colorful paintings Learned has completed a series showing Native Americans washing their hands, wearing masks, keeping social distance and respecting their elders to remind people to stay safe during the pandemic. Some of these images have been turned into posters.

Estefanita Calabaza (Santa Domingo pueblo in New Mexico) a painter, photographer and graphic artist agrees with Learned.

“During this time of a pandemic where our normalcy has been altered I do believe that the online Market is a wonderful idea. It is beneficial for the artist to have a platform to show their work as many art shows have been canceled which has financially impacted income,” said Calabaza.

She has changed her focus she said and must now consider the quality of her images of her work to appear on her SWAIA website.

“This will be a unique show this year, but to even have been given this opportunity is a blessing,” she said.

 

(Kate Saltzstein can be reached at salty223@aol.com)

 

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