101st Santa Fe Indian Market sees an increase in applications

As the 101st Santa Fe Indian Market swarms the Plaza this coming weekend, its organizers have logged a 30% boost in overall applications.

The increase is especially visible in painting and photography classifications.

“Two-D is the largest class,” said Executive Director Jamie Schulze (Northern Cheyenne /Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate). “But the jewelry is right behind it.”

The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, the market’s umbrella organization, received more than 1,400 applications to show in the market this year.

“We sat 1,000,” Schulze said, adding this year’s market has spread beyond the Plaza and into Cathedral Park with 56 additional booths.

Schulze also is seeing an increase in both younger and older artists who have never shown at the market.

“We’re definitely seeing an influx of contemporary jewelry, which we are very excited about,” Schulze said. “It speaks to innovation and creativity.”

This year also features a newly added Get Indigenous Film Festival with juried films sponsored by SWAIA. The inaugural Native American and Indigenous film festival begins with a double bill screening of the newest season openers of FX’s “Reservation Dogs” and AMC’s “Dark Winds” episodes at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 17, at the Violet Crown Cinema.

Visitors can hear music by Artificial Red (Randy Kemp), Cloud Eagle (Vera Toya), Charly Lowry and Adrian Wall, as well as the rhythms of the King Island Dancers, and Tony Duncan and Family on the Plaza on Saturday, Aug. 19. On Sunday, Aug. 20, Sage Cornelius, Native Guitars Tour and storyteller Red Feather Woman (Rose Red Elk) will take the stage.

Sunday’s traditional Native American Clothing Contest will take place on the Plaza Stage from 9 a.m. to noon. The Indigenous Fashion Show will feature clothing from six designers at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center, 201 W. Marcy St., at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

The largest and most prestigious market of its kind, the Santa Fe Indian Market runs from Saturday, Aug. 19, to Sunday, Aug. 20, and includes award-winning art, a gala and auctions, as well as a fashion show and live performances. More than 1,000 artists from the U.S. and Canada, from more than 200 tribes, will be showcasing jewelry, pottery, textiles, sculpture, paintings and more.

See swaia.org for schedules.