Let us count the ways
Why do we love the Santa Fe Indian Market? Well, let us count the ways. First of all, as the longest-running art fair in the country it is second to none when it comes to energy and excitement, as well as inherently possessing an uncanny ability to continually reinvent itself in new and refreshing ways. There literally is no feeling quite like waking up early on the first day of market, greeting the fresh early morning Santa Fe air and walking and seeing booth after booth filled with newly created works by the top Native artists in the country. And in these booths, row on row, it is the artists themselves sitting amongst their own creations. The artists. The makers. The innovators. The risk takers. The creative force that through this moment drives and guides the spirit of the entire event. Proudly standing above the work they have spent the past season in the studio creating, waiting to see how it will be interpreted and received by the quickly growing masses as they converge onto the streets leading to the Plaza.
Some people have compared this feeling to Christmas morning.
And now, after attending the market for almost a decade, we understand where such comparisons come from.
It’s a wonderful feeling that in this day and age of social media, technology and the impersonal nature of such activities, that people come to Indian Market because they enjoy meeting and chatting with the artists face to face. People go because they enjoy meeting the artists and establishing relationships with them that last over the years. And, as I’ve mentioned before, when people buy art at Indian Market—be it jewelry, pottery, painting, photography or beadwork—what they are really doing is taking am emblem of that relationship with them to have in their home to share with their families and other loved ones.
We are excited about something new happening this year as well. As we all know, the actual SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market lasts two days over the third weekend in August every year.
This year it’s the 18th and 19th of August. However, events start the Monday before and, in some cases, the entire week before.
Now, several organizations have banded together to name the week that culminates in the Santa Fe Indian Market Native Art
Week. Look for information about Native Art Week to come out in the coming weeks!
P.S. For future issues, we would love to document the collector’s experience at the Santa Fe Indian Market. Please take photos of your stay in Santa Fe including works purchased and artists purchased from and email them to me at joshuarose@nativeamericanartmagazine.com.