Mark your calendars for the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe!

It’s summer and in Santa Fe that means art market season. Every year, the city plays host to several well-known art markets, including Spanish Market, Indian Market and the International Folk Art Market. 

The season starts off with the spectacular and colorful International Folk Art Market on July 6-9, in Santa Fe’s Railyard Park. This is the largest Folk Art Market in the U.S. and has been operating since 2004. It was founded by businesswoman, Judith Espinar, together with Thomas Aageson, Executive Director of the Museum of New Mexico Foundation, along with Charlene Cerny, formerly Director of the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe and Charmay Allred, a community philanthropist. The State of NM Department of Cultural Affairs, the Museum of International Folk Art and the Museum of NM foundation are the primary strategic partners.  

Courtesy of the International Folk Art Market

UNESCO was an early sponsor of the Market, providing funding for ten artists, followed by an artist-training program in 22 countries. The organization has given its Award of Excellence to several products beginning in 2007. 

The Market’s mission is “to create economic opportunities for and with folk artists worldwide, who celebrate and preserve folk art traditions.” Furthermore, the Market “envisions a world that values the dignity and humanity of the handmade, honors timeless cultural traditions and supports the work of artisans serving as entrepreneurs and catalysts for positive social change.”

Courtesy of the International Folk Art Market

In its inaugural year, the Market hosted sixty participating folk artists. This July, there will be 168, which signifies the largest “class” group of artists in the history of the event. They come from 52 countries across the globe, with many hailing from developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Central Asia and the Middle East. Some are first time artists, whereas others are returning participants. Their crafts include textiles, metalwork, ceramics, glasswork, sculpture, baskets, jewelry, leatherwork, 2D art and more. 

Each artist takes part in a rigorous, multi-step selection process. And each year, there are hundreds of applicants, making it a very competitive Market. The popular event provides a valuable opportunity for the artists to bring their work to the attention of nearly 20,000 potential customers/buyers. Artist earnings have exceeded $34 million over the years and impacted more than one million lives in the communities they represent. 

Courtesy of the International Folk Art Market

Meeta Mastani, for example, is co-founder and current head of Bindaas Unlimited, a collective of rural and urban artisans, designers and artists from India. The organization makes contemporary textiles, hand-printed in natural colors, that run the gamut from t-shirts and towels to bedspreads, handbags, handmade paper books, jewelry and more. Everything made is sustainable and has evolved out of generations of traditional skills. 

Bindaas Unlimited works with communities of many kinds, with an emphasis on craft groups. It provides support of different kinds, ranging from funding, training, networking and on-the-ground work, to organizations and individuals in India. One of its ongoing projects is with the Chhipa community in Rajasthan (a community of traditional printers and dyers) to create water recharge systems. Thus far, it has built two of these systems, which recycle and save millions of liters of water per year. Water is important to the natural printing and dyeing processes and thus a fair amount of this resource is required.. 

Regarding last year’s Market, Mastani commented that the sales were beyond everyone’s wildest imaginations. The money not only helped to add to the income of the collective’s members, but was also used to work on another water recharge project. 

Maria Concepcion Ospina is a community leader in her region of Colombia, who is focused on preserving the heritage of the Indigenous Wayuu culture, one of the largest continuously surviving tribes in South America. She helps to create economic opportunities by training others in the arts of crocheting, weaving and knitting through the Kayuusipaa cooperative. And she views these arts as a way to not only unite the community, but to also form bonds with the “outside world.” 

Monica Bitar, wrote on behalf of Maria Concepcion Ospina and Kayuusipaa from Colombia, that everyone at the booth felt accompanied and supported by the Market team at last year’s event. She noted that the collective broke its own sales record. With what it made, seventy indigenous families in Cabo de La Vela, Guajira, Columbia, were able to live on the proceeds for half a year. 

Courtesy of the International Folk Art Market

Pushpa Kumari, from India, is a first time artist to the market. She is known for her folk paintings that are created with pen and ink on paper. One of her methods involves using a piece of string dipped in ink. Another, employs natural pigments and acrylic paints to create more vibrant colors. Her paintings depict current conditions and concerns, while adhering to traditional principles of the art form. Themes featured include feminism and the challenges of living in a patriarchal society. 

Kumari explains: “In my artwork, I pay homage to the hundreds of women, including my grandmother, who before me have created so much beauty through their paintings.” She adds, “They are like the encyclopedias of our cultural heritage – they are the containers of our beliefs and practices, our history as a people and our journey as a community.” 

Juan Zeferino Rivera is a returning artist from Mexico. For him, woodcarving is a family affair. He began learning the art from his parents when he was just six years old. Today, his whole family contributes to making the miniatures he designs, including his grandchildren to whom he is is teaching the craft. The men do the carving and painting and the women prepare the varnishes and paints, and polish the final products. 

Rivera’s miniatures are made entirely by hand using knives, saws, machetes, sandpaper and cat-hair paint brushes. He says, “The whole process of making our pieces is part of our culture. People have been making these miniatures here for generations. We grow chia for the oil, walk to the river to find the tecostle (iron oxide or siltstone) stones and find our wood in the hills.” He adds, The designs we paint on our pieces are what we learned from our parents. They are very traditional. But the process that is most important to my work, that makes it stand out, is the creativity I put into my pieces.“

During the Market, there will be performances on the centerstage from various music and dance groups representing different cultures, along with artist demos and lectures/conversations. And of course, there will be food, glorious food, offered by local vendors. 

www.folkartmarket.org