What keeps us coming back to Santa Fe year after year? The landscape, the shopping, the cuisine, the culture and, of course, our wonderful friends. But what keeps us returning every August– despite the often punishing heat of the desert in summer? Indian Market, an annual event hosted by the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA), featuring a vast array of offerings from the Native American artists and artisans who mecca to the Plaza each year to take part in the summer gathering.
Imagine a gallery that covers fourteen small city blocks hosting over 600 specialized artists. The backdrop for this cultural oasis is the oldest State Capitol in the country, complete with 400 year old adobe style buildings. The walls include storefronts erected as early as 1610, and the ceiling is the bluest sky. The windows are the many booths offering captivating views of the kind of art and craftsmanship that turns you into an instant collector.
Artworks on display at the 2012 Indian Market juried exhibition and market (clockwise from left): Jamie Okuma’s Best in Show Winning doll; ceramic Hopi Kachina clowns, a mask in one of the market stalls, Pueblo pottery.
Indian Market is many things: a juried exhibition of some of the finest contemporary Native American jewelry, weaving, painting, pottery, beadwork, photography, sculpture and textiles; a cultural meeting place where members of Native American tribes are represented in visual and performing arts; and an open air marketplace to see and be seen in all of your southwestern finery.
Representatives from many Native American tribes wear traditional dress, and perform songs and dances in the Plaza. Left: A man in a mix of contemporary and traditional clothing poses for a picture. Right: Zuni children perform a dance.
If you are lucky enough to be able to attend Indian Market– and all are invited, be sure to pack your most vibrant colors. You cannot be overdressed in jewels or patterns,feathers or beads, furs or fringe. Of course, there is a pervasive southwestern influence in styling, but really, anything goes.
A few examples of Indian Market fashion: Some of these women were locals, and some visiting from other parts of the country, but all of them were fabulously accessorized.
When it comes to Santa Fe fashion, or art for that matter, ‘more is more’ and then some.