Nov. 23—A scaled-down version of Santa Fe's largest summer Indigenous arts markets will return this weekend.
The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts' Winter Indian Market will feature about 170 juried artists at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center, with pottery, jewelry, paintings, sculptures and more. People can buy a $15 day pass or $25 weekend pass to the market, which will include live performances and a silent auction. The auction opened online Monday and closes 3 p.m. Sunday.
At the same time, Poeh Cultural Center's Pathways Winter Market at Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino will showcase about 250 artists' work, including not only traditional Indigenous arts but also baked goods, health and beauty products, clothing and more, marketing manager Jacob Shije said. The market, which is free, will include live performances, food vendors and a visit by Santa Claus on Saturday.
Both markets will host not only local artists but also ones from across the country, organizers said.
The decades-old SWAIA Winter Indian Market, which was historically held at La Fonda, moved to the convention center due to a growth in interest over the past five years, said Executive Director Jamie Schulze. Last year, the market attracted about 1,750 visitors, she estimated.
Both markets are getting bigger. Each year, a panel of judges including academics, collectors and artists accept artist applicants into SWAIA markets according to a stringent set of standards for each art form, and the number of those artists accepted who want to participate in Winter Market has grown over the past several years, Schulze said.
This year's Pathways Winter Market will include more than twice as many artists as last year, Shije said.
The Pueblo of Pojoaque's Poeh Cultural Center has organized winter markets under the name Poeh Winter Market for several years but changed the name this year to build off of the larger summer Pathways Indigenous Arts Festival, which Poeh organized for the third time lin August.
The Poeh Cultural Center's markets stand out because they are very community-based; many Pueblo people come looking for regalia and Christmas presents, Shije said.
The SWAIA market will likely attract collectors of large or exclusive pieces but will also be a great place to find smaller gifts for the holidays, Schulze said.
"You will see a variety of everything," she said.