Renaissance to Goya: prints and drawings from Spain
On display Dec 14, 2013 – Mar 9, 2014
Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664), Head of a Monk. Black chalk and grey wash, c. 1635–1655. Courtesy the British Museum.
This exhibition brings together for the first time prints and drawings by Spanish and other European artists working in Spain from the mid 16th to the early 19th century. It provides a compelling overview of more than 200 years of artistic production, including many works which have never before been on display. The New Mexico Museum of Art is the only American venue in this international tour.
Beginning with works by 16th-century artists working in and around Madrid, the selection progresses chronologically and by region. Spain’s ‘Golden Age’ (the 17th century) is represented by important artists such as Diego Velázquez, Vicente Carducho and Alonso Cano in Madrid, Bartolomé Murillo and Francisco de Zubarán in Seville, and José de Ribera in Spanish Naples.
Turning to the 18th century, key works by Francisco de Goya, his contemporaries and foreign artists such as the Italians Giambattista Tiepolo and his sons demonstrate how printmaking and drawing greatly increased during the period, forever changing the artistic landscape of Spain.
This exhibition is presented by the British Museum in collaboration with the New Mexico Museum of Art.
In July 2014, SITElines becomes a dynamic new part of SITE’s year-round exhibition programming and signature biennial show.
SITE Santa Fe Introduces A new biennial exhibition series that explores contemporary art from Nunavut to Tierra del Fuego July 20, 2014 – January 2015
Opening Festivities July 17-19
Opened in 1995 to present what was then the only international contemporary art biennial in the United States, SITE Santa Fe was born at a time when there were only a handful of biennials in the world. From the very beginning, SITE established a commitment to its risk-taking and visionary perspective.
After two years of research and a thoughtful reconsideration of SITE’s signature international Biennial, 2014 will launch a reimagined biennial exhibition series titled SITElines with a new focus on contemporary art from the Americas.
In many ways, Santa Fe itself is a fusion of the Americas. Many layers of history and culture are embedded in the land in Santa Fe and visible in our present-day population. First Native American land, then a Spanish Kingdom, a Mexican Province, and an American Territory, all before statehood, New Mexico is a rich microcosm of the Americas. SITE Santa Fe is uniquely situated, literally and metaphorically, to explore the territory of the Americas—it is a direction that is both timely and specific to SITE’s vision, place, and history.
In July 2014, SITElines becomes a dynamic new part of SITE’s year-round exhibition programming as a new signature biennial show.
SITElines.2014: Unsettled Landscapes
This show will look to the urgencies, political conditions, and historical narratives that inform the work of contemporary artists across North, Central and South America. Through three themes — landscape, territory and trade — the exhibition will illuminate the connections among representations of the land, movement across the land, and economies and resources derived from the land.
Further information on sitelines.2014 will be announced throughout 2013 and 2014.
The SITElines2014 curatorial team Candice Hopkins, curator (b. Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada; lives in Ottawa and Albuquerque) Lucia Sanroman, curator (b. Guadalajara, Mexico; lives in Boston and Mexico City) Janet Dees, curator of special projects (b. New York; lives in Santa Fe) Irene Hofmann, SITElines director (b. New York; lives in Santa Fe)
In the ten years of the Market, each year more visitors have been drawn to Museum Hill to participate in an exchange of riches. From a local tradition to the global stage, from limited resources to economic empowerment and sustainable income, the work of art is represented here through Market artists. That is the work you join in with your support.
10th Anniversary Market Highlights
More than $2.7 million dollars of folk art was purchased in twenty-one hours! That is an increase of nearly 10%.
Average booth sales were $18,916. Each artist takes home 90% of these sales.
For most artists, that income represents 10 times more than they would earn in a year at home.
Over 20,000 visitors gathered in celebration of folk art representing excellence and authenticity—a 7% increase over last year.
The Market’s first publication, The Work of Art: Folk Artists in the 21st Century, by Carmella Padilla if you missed it, you can still get your copy online by clicking here or visiting www.folkartmarket.org/book.
An estimated 5,000 people joined in welcoming artists at the Community Celebration at the Santa Fe Railyard! The artist procession, demonstrations, kite flying by Market artist Mikio Toki, and local food trucks were enjoyed by all. The evening’s free concert was outstanding, and our supporters danced the night away celebrating the Market’s 10th Anniversary.
The Lensic hosted our Market week concert featuring the Festival au Desert: Caravan for Peace. The sold out audience was treated to music new to many. A highlight that evening was when Market artists Moussa Albaka and Elhadji Koumama danced onstage to the music of their culture.
Though clouds loomed, the Market’s Opening Party was the best yet! The sold out event hosted 1,600 guests who dined on international cuisine and signature cocktails.
The Market stage was incredible! Market goers were often seen swaying to the beat, circling around the dancing dragon, and clapping for more! Cuba’s TradiSon was welcomed back to the Market with huge crowds. It was impossible not to feel the rhythm.
This entry was posted on Friday, August 23rd, 2013 at 8:43 pm and is filed under In the News.
If you happen to be in the Santa Fe Whole Foods Market on the evening of July 10th, don’t be surprised if you find yourself surrounded by dozens of master folk artists from around the Globe for the 10th Annual International Folk Art Market. The Market artists will be at the store selecting dinner ingredients, paid for by Gift Cards provided by Whole Foods Market. These Gift Cards are given to folk artists who take part in the International Folk Art Market’s ‘Mentor to Market’ (M2M) training program, which teaches Market artists business and marketing basics as a way to help empower the artists and support the growing artisan economy.
This year, the Market will play host to 190 master artists from 60 countries and draw an estimated 20,000 market goers, eager to see gorgeous folk art from every corner of the Earth. Some artists arrive as celebrated cultural icons, while others have never before left their villages, let alone boarded a plane. Many of them are women whose art gives them financial independence that would otherwise be unobtainable.
In the past nine years, 650 artists from 80 countries have participated in the Market—generating more than $16 million in sales, 90% of which goes directly to the artists, supporting their families and communities. Many of the artists come from developing countries, where the average income is less than $3 a day and where political, social, and environmental hardships can make everyday life – not to mention the creation of art -challenging. Past Market artists have gone home to build schools, houses, and wells for clean drinking water. As such, the International Folk Art Market has come to represent, in many ways, this bright spot in the world economy.
“Behind agriculture, artisan activity is the second largest employer in the developing world, often the primary means of income.” – US State Department
Since 2007, Whole Foods Market has provided both financial and in-kind support to the International Folk Art Market, including the Dinner Cards for Market artists and food for Market volunteers. Not only that, but Whole Foods Market is a co-sponsor of the popular Community Celebration at the Railyard on Thursday, July 11th. This free public event at the Santa Fe Railyard Park will feature the annual Artists Procession, with more than 100 of the 2013 Market artists—from close to 60 countries, all in colorful national dress—taking part. Audiences will dance the night away to two amazing groups as part of the extremely popular outdoor concert; the West African Highlife Band and South Africa’s legendary Ihashi Elimhlophe.
It’s shaping up to be amazing 10th Anniversary for the International Folk Art Market. Providing individuals and communities with the tools they need to empower themselves is a community endeavor, and the International Folk Art Market is proud to have the continuing support of Whole Foods Market.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 10th, 2013 at 10:54 pm and is filed under In the News.
“The brute sound of weapons and the cries of intolerance are not able to silence the singing of the griots or the sound of the Imzad (violin) and the Tinde (drum).” – Caravan of Artists for Peace and National Unity
Since 2001, the musical celebration called Festival au Desert was held in Mali and was voted one of the top 25 festivals in the world. But in 2012, immediately following the last festival, war broke out in the north of Mali and the 2013 festival was canceled. Islamic militants took over the country and half a million people in northern Mali were forced to flee their homes. In January and February of this year, France and Chad led an armed intervention, defeating the militants, but some remain, resulting in recent suicide bombings and continued attacks on urban areas. The Mali army is in ruins and even if it were not, it has been accused of its own human rights violations and considered suspect by the Kel Tamashek (Tuareg) in the north, many of whom dream of independence from Mali. The country has announced its reconstruction plan and scheduled elections for July, but the road to peace in Mali remains unclear.
Hope for the region is embodied in Festival au Desert: Caravan for Peace Concert – a nomadic version of the Festival au Desert that has been touring Europe and will make its United States debut at the Lensic in Santa Fe on July 10, 2013 as the kick-off to the International Folk Art Market. The original Festival au Desert was created as a cultural peace project – bringing together nomadic Saharan tribes from Algeria to Niger. It grew into a musical phenomenon attracting musicians like Robert Plant and Bono and attendees from around the world to Timbuktu – making it the top tourist attraction in Mali.
Some of the most mesmerizing and talented musicians to come out of the Festival au Desert will bring their message of peace, tolerance, and understanding to a worldwide audience gathered in Santa Fe for the International Folk Art Market. The concert line-up includes Mamadou Kelly, Tartit, and Imharhan.
Mamadou Kelly gained fame playing with Ali Farka Touré, one of Africa’s most internationally renowned musicians. His music is a blend of Malian blues, nomadic Saharan sounds and electric guitar – providing a captivating combination of traditional and modern sounds.
Tartit consists of five women and four men, and through their traditional music, they seek to preserve a culture currently under attack. Once residing in the Timbuktu region of Mali, they are now refugees in Burkina Faso. The group is led by Fadimata Walet Oumar, known as Disco. The women sit, sing and play tinde drums while the men accompany them on string instruments.
The women of Tartit have formed an association recognized by the United Nations that is not only dedicated to preserving their music and culture, but also develops educational and economic opportunities for women and children. The Kel Tamashek society is one of the few in Africa where the women are allowed to have a voice and may choose whom they marry. The men are veiled, while the women are not.The tinde is played exclusively by women and is made from a wooden mortar used to grind grain and covered with goat skin. A soloist sings accompanied by a female chorus singing and clapping.
Tartit morphs into Imharhan. Embracing the 21st century and led by Disco’s brother, Mohamed Issa, the group adds electric instruments to the musical mix adding an element of contemporary experimentation to their desert blues.
This concert is presented by the International Folk Art Market and ¡Globalquerque! and made possible through a Lensic Community Sponsorship and support from World Women Work.
Tickets for Festival au Desert: Caravan for Peace Concert are on sale now at The Lensic box office, online, or by calling 505.988.1234.
This entry was posted on Monday, June 17th, 2013 at 7:03 pm and is filed under In the News.
Folk art, with its deep expressions of cultures, values, and traditions, reflects experiences of communities and artists in an increasingly connected world.
A collaborative project between the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market and CCA, our 2013 film series presents the beauty, challenges and inspiration woven into folk art. Join us in a celebration of cinema that reflects traditional cultures from around the world.
The series is produced by the International Folk Art Market – Santa Fe, with films curated by Emmy-winning writer-producer Kirk Ellis (JOHN ADAMS) and CCA Cinematheque Director Jason Silverman.
April 17 • Opening Night Party! — Devi (The Goddess)
5:30 p.m. Tickets: $20
“Ray’s feeling for the intoxicating beauty within the disintegrating way of life of the 19th-century landowning class makes this one of the rare, honest films about decadence.” –Pauline Kael
Celebrate Indian culture with appetizers and chai from India Palace, a traditional Indian dance performance, an inspirational video message from Market participant Reema Nanavaty of India’s Self Employed Women’s Association, and a rare screening of Satyajit Ray’s masterpiece. Devi follows the story of Kalikinkar, an aging patriarch who dreams that his daughter-in-law Doyamoyee is an incarnation of the goddess Kali. After Kalikinkar insists the villagers worship her, Doyamoyee miraculously heals a sick child. Believers line up, and Doyamoyee begins to believe in her own powers. Despite its anti-establishment message, the gorgeous, haunting Devi won the prestigious President’s Gold Medal in 1961. (India, 1960, 97m, digital video courtesy of Janus Films)
May 15 • The Story of Qiu Ju
7 p.m. $12
“Mr. Zhang’s keen and universal view of human nature raises his work far above its own visual beauty and into the realm of timeless storytelling.” –New York Times
Zhang Yimou, China’s greatest living filmmaker, tells the story of a young village woman (the radiant Gong Li) living in traditional ways. After a local official insults her husband, she travels to the big city in search of justice, navigating the baffling modern world. Zhang has created one of the most striking films about the challenges of contemporary China, featuring a keen sense of its rhythms and landscapes and providing a miraculous balance of the absurd and the poignant. (China, 1992, 100m, 35mm print courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
June 12 • Central Station
7 p.m. $12
“A richly tender and moving experience … Salles, like De Sica and Renoir, displays a pure and unpatronizing feel for the poetry of broken lives. His movie is really about that most everyday of miracles: the rebirth of hope.” –Entertainment Weekly
In Rio, the callous Dora (the legendary Fernanda Montenegro, nominated for an Oscar) writes letters for a parade of the poor and the illiterate. After hearing the story of a recently orphaned nine-year-old boy, she decides to take him on a search through the countryside for his father. In this Golden Globe-winning road movie, Walter Salles (MOTORCYCLE DIARIES, ON THE ROAD) shows us the peoples and cultures of Brazil—both traditional and modern—as you’ve never seen them, and celebrates our potential for rebirth. Followed by a pre-recorded Skype interview with director Walter Salles. (Brazil, 1998, 113m, 35mm print courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
All films will be shown at the CCA Cinematheque
Advance ticket purchases encouraged online, these shows are likely to sell out. 1050 Old Pecos Trail • 505.982.1338 • ccasantafe.org
This entry was posted on Monday, March 25th, 2013 at 5:07 pm and is filed under In the News.
Dr. Manuel Montoya, Ahdina Zunkel and Shawn McQueen-Ruggerio
What part does social enterprise play in the world economy? Folk Art Market Executive Director, Shawn McQueen-Ruggerio and Market Artist Development Director, Ahdina Zunkel participated as honored respondents at a talk by Ashoka Lemelson Fellow, Greg Van Kirk on this very topic.
The talk was presented by International Business Students Global (IBSG) and the UNM Anderson School of Management in conjunction with the announcement of IBGS partnering with Van Kirk’s organization, the Social Entrepreneur Corp. The Corp works with social entrepreneurs in developing countries – work closely aligned with that of the Market’s.
Greg Van Kirk, Ashoka Lemelson Fellow and founder of the Social Entrepreneur Corp.
What is social entrepreneurship? Van Kirk defined it this way:
when earning a living also helps the community
when business opportunities have social impact
when profitability leads to social impact and not just money
when the endeavor involves persistence, creativity, innovation and value
“It’s not about what we do, but what we set in motion,” said Van Kirk, “taking an empathetic approach to working with people.”
What has the Market set in motion and how has its programming contributed to the advancement of social entrepreneurship?
More than 650 Master artisans have participated in our Market
1.23 million lives have been impacted by the Market opportunity
Over 10 years, artists sales exceeded $16 million, 90% went home with the artists and their organizations
In addition, the Market is working on its teaching model which focuses on business and marketing workshops for folk artists each year. Mentor to Market is a peer-to-peer knowledge exchange that not only brings professionals in the field to mentor the artists, but also allows the artists to mentor each other. For example, if a cooperative in Bolivia is struggling to find a way to manage their money, the Market could share what it knows about money management – but it prefers to connect them with a cooperative leader in Peru that has a successful model.
The Market’s participation in the UNM event is not the first collaboration between the two entities. In 2012, Dr. Manuel Montoya of the UNM Anderson School of Management and a group of philosophy and business students (members of The Poetics Project) conducted a study to identify factors contributing to the Market’s sustainability and success as an NGO. Dr. Montoya says the students wanted to go beyond the typical study of an organization’s success. The students looked at profit and the ability of the Market to organize artists, but they also examined the significance of the event itself and the cultural phenomena it presents. The students tried to understand the Market as an educational institution – its curriculum, pedagogy, engagement and how the organization treats folk art. Dr. Montoya says that this is what sets the Folk Art Market apart.
“They (the Market) are tacitly aware of the great tension in the 21st century. What has been produced as a result of mass production, and what has been preserved by valuing what has been done by hand. As a community, they provide values and leadership in understanding those values, “ says Montoya. “There are very few other institutions who understand at that level what is going on.”
The Market looks forward to a continuing relationship with the UNM Anderson School of Management, International Business Students Global and the students involved in the Poetics Project.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 20th, 2013 at 10:50 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.
Olivia Wilde with Rebecca Lolosoli. Photo by Jessica Chermeyeff as seen in “Vogue”
International Women’s Day has been observed since the early 1900s. Today it is a day to celebrate and honor the work of women who have raised their voices to fight oppression and who have given of their talents to make the world a better and equal place for all. Although great strides have been made, there is more work to be done to bring economic, social and political equality to women around the world.
One way to do this is through economic empowerment. No one knows this better than Rebecca Lolosoli, a Folk Art Market artist and matriarch of the Umoja Uaso Women’s Village in Kenya. The Village is a safe haven for women and girls fleeing abuse. The women not only provide for their children and themselves by selling their beaded jewelry, but also share resources including a disability fund, community center, and school. Rebecca is one of many women making a difference and whose stories are told by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn in the book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide – now a documentary film.
The film was shot in 10 countries: Cambodia, Kenya, India, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Liberia and the United States and features reporter Nicholas Kristof as well as celebrity advocates like America Ferrera and Oliva Wilde.
The Market has teamed up with The Lensic Performing Arts Center and New Mexico PBS to present a segment of Half the Sky on March 7, 2013, that includes Rebecca Lolosoli. The screening will be followed by a panel presentation moderated by Ali MacGraw, featuring New Mexico women who are making a difference locally and worldwide.
In addition, you have a chance to submit your questions for the panel via Facebook and Twitter. Send us a your question as a comment on Facebook or to @sffolkartmarket using the hashtag #IFAMpanel and Ali MacGraw may use your question the night of the event.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 at 10:32 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.
Members of the Market community attended the formal launch of the Alliance for Artisan Enterprise at the U.S. Department of State, hosted by and in partnership with The Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, November 27, 2012.
As a founding member of the Alliance, the Market proudly joined with our fellow 22 founders and global stakeholders to announce the launch of this important, new public-private sector led alliance designed to support and grow artisan enterprise, improve livelihoods, sustain craft communities, preserve cultural heritage and contribute to sustainable economic and social development.
Over the last six months, we have been privileged to be involved with the initial planning and launch of the Alliance. Members of the State Department’s Office of Women’s Global Issues traveled to Santa Fe for the 2012 International Folk Art Market to meet with our staff, observe our Artist Training Programs, visit with artisans and learn more about our ten years of work with folk artists from around the world. Joining the Alliance as a founding member was a natural extension of our mission to provide opportunities for folk artists to succeed in the global marketplace.
The International Folk Art Market begins a new chapter in its 10th Anniversary year with a new Executive Director, Shawn McQueen-Ruggeiro.
Shawn joins us in Santa Fe from San Diego, California where, for the past eight years, she has worked with Project Concern International (PCI), a leading health and development organization. Her passion for art and her experience working in the developing world led her here, to the International Folk Art Market.
While at PCI, Shawn launched “Women Empowered”, a savings-based empowerment program designed to help the most vulnerable women in the world. She also led the organization’s re-branding effort and its 50th Anniversary celebration. She recruited an impressive list of collaborators and influential supporters for PCI including: famed Peruvian economist Fernando de Soto; Kenneth Kaunda, the first democratically elected president of Zambia; Kenyan activist Wahu Kaara; musician and activist Bonnie Raitt; Zimbabwean international recording star Oliver Mtukudzi; and Mohammed Yunus.
Shawn finds inspiration in the incredible people she has met while working in the developing world – like William Kamkwamba. William created a windmill made out of found objects on his farm in Malawi and wrote the book, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Her proudest accomplishments have been the life-long friendships she has forged with beneficiaries like Tobias Tembo – a former street child from Zambia and now a graduate of the University of Zambia – and Pintuk Jha, the first graduate from PCI’s shelter home, who is now a student at a technical college in Delhi, India.
Shawn was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California and is an alumna of the University of California – Santa Barbara where she earned a bachelor of arts in history with a Latin American emphasis and a certificate in Global Peace and Security. She also holds a certificate in fundraising from UCLA. She began her career with the American Red Cross as a field representative in South Central Los Angeles and served as the public information officer and shelter manager during the civil unrest following the Rodney King beatings. From there she went on to a fundraising positions with White Memorial Medical Center, the Hugh O’Brian Youth Foundation and the Ocean Institute.
A self-described sufferer of “wanderlust”, Shawn continues to travel with her young family. In fact, she’s been known to empty her suitcases to make room for folk art and other treasures found during her travels. Her husband and two daughters will be following her here to New Mexico on her next big adventure. We hope you’ll join us in welcoming them to Santa Fe!
Janet Nkubana is grateful. The co-founder of Gahaya Links in Rwanda, a group of women artisans whose basket-weaving has provided vital income for them following the Rwandan genocide of 1994, deserves gratitude herself from many people. But she’s clear that the International Folk Art Market has been instrumental in this amazing story of recovery and empowerment.
She puts it like this: “Thank you for being a beacon of hope to many of us, your support has touched so many lives in our country and has restored our dignity and values.”
Rwandan women have for centuries passed on to their daughters the skills to weave baskets using a variety of organic reeds and grasses, and carrying designs with longstanding cultural meanings.
Following the genocide, Gahaya Links was founded as a way of turning Rwanda’s ancient basket weaving tradition into a source of livelihood for the rural women who found themselves without any means of support.
Having a sense of belonging and community is something for which we all can be thankful. For the artisans of Orijyn and the Saoban cooperative in Laos, the Market provides a community that spans the globe. From the inspiration provided by a network of fellow artisans, to the tireless determination of Market staff and volunteers, to the positive reinforcement from enthusiastic Market patrons – Orijyn’s artisans find strength, belonging, pride and a shared appreciation of the importance of handicrafts in sustaining culture and tradition. It’s the people in the Market community for whom they are the most thankful.
“Since our acceptance into the show, the Santa Fe Folk Art Market has been a blessing,” says Mark Sloneker of Orijyn. “It was not just the great sales, though the sales have been very helpful in building revenue. It’s the network that has long-term value.”
Orijyn first brought its exquisite silver jewelry from Laos to the Market in 2009. Orijyn works with PADETC, a non-profit school in Laos that houses Saoban, a silversmith cooperative working to preserve traditional art forms by teaching a younger generation and providing education and healthcare to artisans.
Sloneker says the Market community has raised the credibility level of Orijyn’s artisans and increased the confidence of prospective wholesalers in the cooperative’s ability to develop and maintain professional business relationships. The increase in revenue from direct sales at the Market, twenty new wholesale relationships, catalog and online sales with National Geographic and two large orders from QVC have had a direct impact on the lives of artisans and their families in Laos.
The new revenue has enabled Orijyn to train new staff and add 50+ artisans to the Saoban silversmith group. Its new microloan program is providing supplies to artisans that cannot afford to make the initial investment in materials. Programs to teach accounting and co-op development, as well as basic healthcare have all increased. It has opened a store in Vientiane to capture the tourist trade and develop the Saoban brand. Sloneker is proud to report that the store is both self-sustaining and generating new wholesale customers from around the world.
Students and artisans with the Saoban handcraft division of the PADETC
The Saoban handcraft division is leading the way for the other divisions within PADETC – becoming a profit center and a model for supply chain development, branding and marketing. The managers are now teaching other Lao entrepreneurs how to build and sustain a business. Orijyn and Saoban are reaching their goals through the support and assistance of the Market community.
“We now have lifelong friends around the world,” says Sloneker. “We share our experiences and trials, and offer each other support and ideas to improve the work we do. We don’t feel alone in our endeavors”.
Without a doubt, a community to be thankful for.
This entry was posted on Sunday, November 18th, 2012 at 9:06 pm and is filed under Artists Spotlights.
Josnel Bruno, from Croix-des-Bouquets in Haiti, makes beautiful recycled oil drum bowls and platters, and 2012 was the first year in which his work was available at the Market.
Visa problems meant Josnel himself was unable to attend, but the impact on his life from the sale of his work at the Market has been profound.
Financial support from the Market and sponsorship from HAND/EYE Fund, covered the cost of his booth and longtime friend and supporter of Haitian artists Susan Tselos worked at the booth on his behalf.
Keth Recker of HAND/EYE (and Market Board Member) says, “HAND/EYE Fund’s roots in Haiti are deep. We published an entire issue of HAND/EYE Magazine focused on the art, craft, design and spiritual traditions of Haiti. We have operated, with funding from the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, an artisan development program called the Artisan Business Network. And we have had a strong artisan grants program since 2010.
“Among the grants we are most proud of are our sponsorships of artists headed to the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market. Included in this group are bead-and-sequin artist Mireille Delisme and metalworker Josnel Bruno.”
Moroccan jewelry maker Naema Birali from the co-operative Artisanat des Femmes de Khenifra was a first-time attendee at the Market this year. The co-operative has been working with Marcia Newlands from the Peace Corps to reflect on their experiences in Santa Fe, and plan for the best use of the money they earned.
The women of the co-operative shared their earnings based on the sales of each of their items, and they put 30% of their money back into the co-operative. Marcia explains, “They will also use some of the money to buy supplies to make more jewelry. However, they feel that they can now look to making some sort of difference in the community if they are invited back, and are discussing possible activities. One thing they want to do is to teach other young women the art of making the jewelry. They also want to study English and several of them are joining together to pay a teacher to help them.”
The money the women took home will go to help with day-to-day expenses, such as school supplies and clothes for their children, or perhaps buying a refrigerator for their homes, or a fan to help with the heat (it averages 110 degrees and higher for at least three months every summer). Read the rest of this entry »
In 2013 ART Santa Fe celebrated its thirteenth successful fair, once again offering an all-encompassing experience that included a high-class mix of excellent contemporary galleries from all over the globe, cutting-edge art installations, and emerging artists and dealers. The high-stakes world of the international art fair once again provided heady, glamorous fare for serious collectors and scene-seekers alike.
ART Santa Fe’s style offered a perfect balance of breadth and intimacy, allowing visitors to speak with dealers and artists while experiencing a full range of art in a comprehensible context. And unlike other art fairs, the experience did not end at the exhibition hall’s doors. The events planned in conjunction with ART Santa Fe 2013 included our gala opening night Vernissage and the prestigious Art Santa Fe Presents lecture featuring a keynote speaker of prominence in the contemporary art world. And as Smart Money magazine recently noted: “The [Santa Fe] arts scene is one of the best you’ll find anywhere. Santa Fe is dotted with 240 art galleries and the home of Art Santa Fe, an international art fair that attracts buyers and tourists from around the globe.”
ART Santa Fe also offered exhibitors and visitors the opportunity to enjoy the most beautiful time of year in a unique and interesting city, a city that Conde Nast Traveler magazine’s 2009 Reader’s Choice Awards named as the third best U.S. city to visit. Santa Fe’s rich cultural mix included performances at the award-winning open-air theater of the Santa Fe Opera, with sunset and stars forming part of the backdrop; and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. Numerous outdoor activities took advantage of our ideal climate and allowed visitors to enjoy the famed beauty of the New Mexico landscape.
SANTA FE CONVENTION CENTER 201 W. Marcy, Santa Fe, NM
The Santa Fe Artists Market produces outdoor juried art exhibitions at the Railyard and Cathedral Park, two of the most beautiful venues in Santa Fe.
The artists are local, from northern New Mexico, and talented in many artistic mediums. They bring a diverse collection of fine art together in a lovely and festive setting. Come meet the artists, take home a treasure…• Over 100 active juried artists • Two beautiful outdoor locations
April thru November – Saturdays At the Park- 8:00 am to 1:00 pm December and March – Saturdays On the Plaza at the water tower- 8:00 am to 1:00 pm
Convenient Parking at the city’s Railyard Parking Garage located at 500 Market Street just north of REI.
Cathedral Park The Cathedral Park on the Plaza – 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Saturday & Sunday July 6th & 7th, October 5th & 6th, October 12th – 13th
Donna Ruff, printmaker, illustrator and Art Department faculty member for more than two years at Santa Fe University of Art and Design spoke with SantaFe.com about the “Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here” exhibition coming to Santa Fe the second week of February. Some of Ruff’s work is part of the international exhibition’s tour, which is visiting the SFUAD campus as part of the school’s “Artists for Positive Social Change” series. The exhibition’s opening reception, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Friday, February 8 at 5p.m. in the Fine Arts Gallery in the campus’ Southwest Annex.
SantaFe.com: Could you tell me about your current project?
Donna Ruff: In March of 2007 the street of booksellers in Baghdad, Iraq, Al-Mutanabbi Street, was car-bombed. Thirty people died and many more were injured. So you might say, car bomb in Baghdad, what else is new? But bombing Al-Mutanabbi Street was symbolic for Iraqis and indeed for all who are interested in maintaining cultural life in the Middle East. Under Saddam Hussein, there was a very closed society but writers and poets, intelligentsia, still congregated on Al-Mutanabbi Street. Even though the magazines and books, especially those from the West, were out of date, there was such a hunger for connection to the world of ideas, the street was revered by Iraqis. So bombing it was a direct hit on that world of ideas.
A poet and bookseller from San Francisco, Beau Beausoleil, read about the bombings and decided to do something to commemorate the street and those who had died. There had been a lot written about Al-Mutanabbi Street because it was so symbolic. Beau first organized a group of artists to do broadsides, or posters, responding to the bombing. The broadsides often used texts from pieces written about the street. Then Beau put out a call to book artists to do an artist’s book commemorating the street. I was one of the artists invited to do this. Each artist made three books: two of them will travel in exhibitions that have already begun, all over the world. The other book will be in the permanent collection of the National Library in Baghdad. We are hosting an exhibition of almost 100 of the books (there are 260 in all) and have several events planned. On Wednesday February 6th we will be showing two films—one, “A Candle for Shabandar Cafe,” is by a student and is about the iconic café on Al-Mutanabbi Street where everyone hung out before the bombing. The other film, “Open Shutters,” is about a photography workshop that was organized by a filmmaker from Baghdad who now lives in London. She brought women from Baghdad to Syria to teach them how to take photographs and write their life stories. It’s very moving. We have no idea how much being at war has impacted the lives of ordinary people. The workshop taught them not only about the specifics of good photography, but about how their individual experiences are important.
On Thursday February 7th we will have a panel discussion with Beau, who is coming from San Francisco to take part in our exhibition, along with me and two other artists whose works are in the show, which officially opens on Friday, with music provided by world music students. I am teaching a book arts class this semester and my students are helping curate the exhibition. These books were made by internationally known book artists—it is very special for us to have it here.
It’s important for the community to support this too. I often hear from people that the events at SFUAD are meant for the college community and people don’t know to come, or they feel they are not invited. Nothing could be further from the truth. I also want to say that part of the reason I feel it’s important to involve students and community alike is that we have so little contact with the Middle East other than seeing the images and stories of fighting and war—we think of them as the Other and it’s important to understand that they are not a bunch of terrorists looking to destroy our way of life. This is why Beau titled the exhibition “Al-Mutanabbi Starts Here.” Because this is the narrative for all of us who are interested in art and literature, who want people to be able to argue ideas, get lost in a book, see what’s happening outside their small world. And I might mention that the street was bombed again recently, just as the booksellers were starting to rebuild. The deliberate destruction of centuries of artifacts and important works of art has been very disheartening to see. Remember that writing was invented in that part of the world. Compared to the cultural history that began in the Middle East, our history in the West is rather recent.
SFDC: It’s unfortunate to hear about another bombing there. It isn’t a crime to want to break out of a cultural bubble.
DR: Not a crime here, but in so much of the world it is. I mean, we could talk about so many areas where there is no freedom of speech whatsoever, where even getting a polio shot is forbidden because the idea has been circulated that it’s a Western plot to sterilize children. We are so lucky to live in this country. But the human spirit is so strong—you can see it in the women featured in the film we’re showing. We need to be reminded of this because it’s so easy to forget it. So ultimately this whole project is about optimism. Beau specified that the books were not to be memorial pieces. They are to celebrate books as containers of information and hope. When a government wants to instill fear and power, books are the first things they destroy. But they will not disappear—there will always be a way for ideas to grow and flourish.
SFDC: And we’re in the information age now. Digital circumventing of these blockades has already begun. It’s rather pathetic to take lives against a tide of change like the one that’s poised.
DR: Absolutely, social media and the internet have been the lifeline of change and democratic revolt. So one hopes that this can continue even when access to the Internet is shut down by despotic government forces.
Donna Ruff, Rabii. 2012
Lauren Camp, Versions: A Deconstruction. 2012
Suzanne Vilmain, Untitled: A Collection of Maps for Al-Mutanabbi Street – Baghdad,
Explore the art of calligraphy during a demonstration by Zen master Shodo Harada Roshi. After a brief overview of calligraphy’s history, the Roshi will share his personal journey both as a monk and with this spiritual art form. Creating large-scale scrolls in St. Francis Auditorium, he will demonstrate the process behind this Zen practice.
A translator will provide on-going commentary to the Roshi’s live demonstration. A closed-circuit video feed will provide the audience an almost up-close viewing experience. The scrolls will be on view after the demonstration.
The scrolls, other calligraphy art, and the Roshi’s books will be available for purchase after the demonstration.
Co-presented with the One Drop Zen Community of Whidbey Island, Puget Sound, Washington.
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
$5 suggested donation at the door.
New Mexico Museum of Art 107 West Palace Avenue Santa Fe, NM 87501
