Editorial: Plenty of room in Santa Fe for two Indian art markets

Long-term goals — including more financial stability — will be dealt with after another successful Indian Market. It has been and will continue to be the star of a Santa Fe summer. Because of its sheer size — more than 1,000 artists, tens of thousands of visitors and millions of dollars spent — Indian Market is essential to the health of the city and so many businesses and workers.

Meantime, departing SWAIA staffers are adding to the attractions of a Santa Fe summer, making August an even more important time to be here. They are founding the Indigenous Fine Arts Market, to take place about the same time (Aug. 18-23) as Indian Market, only down at the Santa Fe Railyard instead of the Plaza. Maybee, when interviewed earlier about potential competition, struck exactly the right tone, telling The New Mexican that there is “always room for more markets.”

“Frankly,” said Maybee, “I hope they succeed, because we’re talking about my friends. Their livelihood depends on getting their art out there.”

This summer, it appears there will be art enough for everyone — with a robust Santa Fe Indian Market, an upstart Indigenous Fine Arts Market, the myriad of gallery shows, museum exhibits and other activities that give Indian Market Week its not-to-be-duplicated ambiance. And at the center, as it should be, are the artists whose talent and brilliance makes Santa Fe the best place to be on a particular week in August.