FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE— The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA), the non-profit organization that produces the annual Santa Fe Indian Market, is pleased to announce SWAIA’s Centennial Indigenous Fashion Show designers.
The 2022 fashion programming is expanding over two days, showcasing two full fashion shows with the first premiering on Saturday, August 20, at the Centennial Gala Party: Shiny Drop. The finale Indigenous Fashion Show takes place on Sunday, August 21, at the Santa Fe Convention Center. Sunday’s fashion show is immediately followed by an exclusive Trunk Show, limited to ticket holders of the SWAIA Fashion Show. Guests will have the opportunity to buy and order directly from their favorite designers.

Amber-Dawn Bear Robe, who produces the fashion events, states “The long-term goal is to grow the fashion programming into a SWAIA Fashion Week. Last year we announced a partnership between SWAIA Fashion, Indigenous Fashion Arts (IFA), Vancouver Fashion Week (VFW) and the newly established Supernaturals Modelling Agency. All partners will be back this year and we hoping to announce a Santa Fe Indigenous Fashion Week soon.”

Details are available on the new SWAIA fashion website at  swaia.org/fashion . Tickets on sale soon!

The 2022 participating fashion designers are:

• Jason Baerg (Cree Métis)
• Himikalas / Pamela Baker (Kwaguilth/ Sqaumish)
• Catherine Blackburn (Dene) and Melanie LeBlanc (European and Dene)
• Orlando Dugi (Navajo)
• Korina Emmerich (Puyallup and Nisqually)
• Sho Esquiro (Kaska Dene/ Cree)
• Lauren GoodDay (Arikara, Hidatssa, Blackfeet, Plains Cree)
• Dorothy Grant (Haida)
• Lesley Hampton (Anishinaabe)
• Ursula Hudson (Tlingit)
• Patricia Michaels (Taos Pueblo)
• Skawennati (Mohawk)
• Jamie Okuma (Luiseño, Wailaki, Okinawan, and Shoshone-Bannock)
• Cody Sanderson (Navajo)
• Yolanda Skelton (Gitxsan)
• Adrian Standing Elk Pinnecoose (Navajo/Southern Ute)

Concurrent with SWAIA’s Centennial fashion programming, the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) is launching an exhibition entitled Art of Indigenous Fashion, curated by Bear Robe. Opening Thursday, August 18, the show features many of the designers who have been on the SWAIA runway.

M E D I A  C O N T A C T
Audrey N Rubinstein
The Metta Agency
505-490-5029
audrey@themettaagency.com

About SWAIA Fashion:
SWAIA Fashion encompasses the annual Fashion Shows produced during, and soon beyond, the Santa Fe Indian Market by curator and Indigenous art historian Amber-Dawn Bear Robe. Since 2014, Bear Robe has produced and directed SWAIA’s fashion programming.

VIFW
IFWTO
Supernaturals Modelling

 

 

If you haven’t heard of NDN World yet, don’t worry, you will soon. In March, the Southwestern Association of Indian Arts, the non-profit that produces the 99-year-old Santa Fe Indian Market, embarked on a project with consulting partners, the Clark Hulings Fund and Free Agent Source to create a virtual gathering space. The virtual space, named NDN World, is the location of this year’s Santa Fe Indian Market Best-of-Show Awards.

“Those of us working on the SWAIA project love it so much we hope to do more projects like this. Implementing virtual collaboration and expo space on the Vircadia platform for organizations and corporate clients is a growing practice area,” said Steve Pruneau, co-owner of Free Agent Source, responsible for consulting operations.



NDN WORLD—3D, modeled after the Santa Fe Convention Center with design elements such as a kiva fireplace from the La Fonda Hotel and textiles modeled from images of Shiprock Santa Fe’s collection, now exists on the open source Vircadia Platform. Vircadia is an online metaverse: participants can connect and create with others in an immersive and interactive virtual world. 

NDN World demonstrates the non-profit’s commitment to the future, embracing new ways of showcasing Native art and entrepreneurship in an increasingly digital world. “I think it is amazing that a Native American art festival is stepping into the virtual world. All of the collaborators on this year’s Virtual Indian Market are setting the bar, embracing the future,” said Elizabeth Hulings, founder of the Clark Hulings Fund for Visual Artists. 

SWAIA’s Executive Director Kim Peone (Colleville Confederated Tribes/ Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) has a history of organizational leadership and enacting change. She is the first woman to lead SWAIA in the organization’s almost 100-year history. Her goals for SWAIA are both immediate and long term. 

“I immediately recognized the potential in creating a virtual space to showcase the best in Native art, to educate visitors about the North American Indigenous Nations and to gather with people from around the world,” said Executive Director Kim Peone. 

Join This Year’s Virtual Experiences:

On Saturday, August 15, SWAIA Members with Select/Premium and VIP Access will have the opportunity to attend the first-ever, live “In World” virtual awards program sponsored by JoAnn and Bob Balzer. Awards will be announced in 11 categories, including a newly designated Virtual Grand Award.

• Jewelry
• Pottery
• 2-D
• Pueblo Wooden Sculptures
• Sculpture
• Textiles
• Diverse Arts
• Beadwork/Quillwork
• Basketry
• Youth
• Virtual Grand Award 

Special Awards will be presented in the following categories:

• “Elaborate Face Masks”
• “Solidarity in our Current Times”
• “Executive Director’s Award: Honoring Your Mother and Father”

The Virtual Awards Program will begin In World at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 15, or visitors with Select/Premium and VIP access can watch the live-streamed event at SWAIA.org 

August 22: SWAIA Gala and Benefit Auction

The Gala begins at 3:00 p.m. MST followed by the Benefit Auction at 4:00 p.m.

For additional information on how to install Vircadia software on a Mac or PC and an ‘In World’ user experience guide, visit swaia.org. SWAIA will offer technical support to members throughout the month of August, Monday to Friday, 12:00 pm (Mac Users) and 2:00 pm (PC Users). 

PRESS INQUIRIES

Press interested in previewing NDN World, please contact Audrey Rubinstein to join an In-World Press Preview.

            audrey@themettaagency.com

            505.466.6992 or 505.490.5029 

 

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About Virtual Indian Market:
The Indian Market 2020 (The Virtual Edition) is Delivered By Close Collaboration Between the SWAIA, the Clark Hulings Fund, ArtSpan, Vircadia and Madpipe.

New Mexico arts leaders respond to cancellations— create new platforms for Native artists

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—May 7, 2020; Santa Fe, NM: Santa Fe Indian Market and the Clark Hulings Fund for Visual Artists (CHF) are pleased to announce a significant collaboration aimed at providing opportunities for Native artists to showcase and sell artwork amid the Coronavirus pandemic.

The like-minded organizations, both based in New Mexico, are jointly committed to providing artists with the training and support they need to be economically successful. SWAIA’s mission, in addition to producing the Santa Fe Indian Market, is creating economic and cultural opportunities for Native American and First Nations artists. 

“The partnership with the Clark Hulings Fund arrives at a moment when SWAIA is approaching our centennial year—establishing new methods of assisting Native artists and preparing them for success in the next 100 years. We are fortunate to receive the expertise of the Clark Hulings Fund, which offers extensive art-business programming to communities,” said SWAIA’s Executive Director Kim Peone.

In addition to aiding individual Native artists, the affiliation will increase SWAIA’s organizational capacity, providing greater support and year-round economic opportunities to Native artists. This August, Indian Market’s awards program and other beloved events will be transitioned to a virtual platform. Audiences and collectors will have the opportunity to participate online at the world’s largest and most prestigious juried Native art market. The virtual platform will also accommodate more artists than the physical Market which is constrained by limited space in downtown Santa Fe. Therefore, artists who were juried in in 2020 but on the waitlist for a booth, will have the chance to participate.

“With many summer art markets cancelled, we are thrilled to create a virtual Indian Market.  The hundreds of artists who participate will not face an economic catastrophe on the heels of a medical one. Now, thanks to the work we are undertaking with SWAIA, artists will be able to showcase and sell their work virtually.

Beyond the emergency response, our collaboration also affords the Clark Hulings Fund the occasion to help Indian Market artists—and SWAIA as an organization— develop healthier, more sustainable business models. With our help, Native small businesses will be positioned to thrive over the long-term, economically and artistically. It feels good to be able to step up and deliver valuable assistance at this moment,” said Elizabeth Hulings, Executive Director of the Clark Hulings Fund.

Specific event details and programming will be posted to the SWAIA website (www.swaia.org) as they are available.

Media Contacts:

Amanda Crocker: 505.982.4526 acrocker@swaia.org (SWAIA PR/Marketing Director)
Audrey Rubinstein: 505.466.6992 audrey@themettaagency.com (Consultant Publicist)

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About SWAIA: 
The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) is a non-profit organization supporting Native American arts and culture. It creates economic and cultural opportunities for Native American artists by producing and promoting the Santa Fe Indian Market, the biggest and most prestigious Indian art event in the world since 1922; cultivating excellence and innovation across traditional and non-traditional art forms; and developing programs and events that support, promote, and honor Native artists year-round. swaia.org

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About the Clark Hulings Fund: The Clark Hulings Fund for Visual Artists (CHF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes the legacy of American painter Clark Hulings (1922 – 2011) by equipping working visual artists to be self-sustaining entrepreneurs. Founded in 2013, CHF showcases Hulings’ life and work as an example to today’s artists and offers them a comprehensive art-business education so that they can thrive as he did. We deliver a suite of integrated learning services continually, both virtually and in-person, via live events, digital channels and portable media formats to build professional networks of opportunity.