In July 2004, 61 master folk artists from 36 countries ventured to this high-desert city to share in a then-untested proposition that creativity, prosperity and community well being could be realized through the art of the handmade. This July, that proposition—the International Folk Art Market Santa Fe—marks 15 years of art and impact as more than 150 folk artists from 53 countries gather at the world’s largest, most diverse folk art festival to celebrate cherished craft traditions and contribute to global unity and economic change.

The 2018 Market is an event the world’s art and culture lovers won’t want to miss as 39 first-time artists join 123 returning artists, and two countries never before represented at the Market—Azerbaijan, and Greece—step onto the global folk art stage. Twenty-eight artists will again provide Innovation Inspiration in a special exhibition area, translating traditional folk art materials and techniques into works of modern meaning. Collectively, these creators’ eye-dazzling forms, textures and designs—textiles, jewelry, beadwork, basketry, sculpture, ceramics, rugs, metalwork, clothing, home accessories and more—blur borders in colorful displays of cultural dignity, beauty, and hope.

A MODEL OF PARTNERSHIP
Since 2004, the Market’s model of community-based enterprise and collaboration has been bolstered by partnerships worldwide, including such respected global cultural leaders as UNESCO and the World Craft Council.

In 2018, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, will join the Market family as Honorary Co-Chair. Yunus, a Bangladeshi economist, founded Grameen Bank in 1983 with a philosophy that everyone is a natural entrepreneur. He has since provided more than $26 billion in collateral-free loans to nine million borrowers—more than 97 percent of them women.

In addition to the world’s folk artists, perhaps the most essential partner in the Market’s history has been the city of Santa Fe, a place rich in its own indigenous cultures and craft traditions and a history of cross-cultural exchange and commerce. Santa Fe’s vitality as an arts and culture destination has catalyzed the Market’s extraordinary volunteer base—drawing more than 6,700 volunteers from Santa Fe, throughout New Mexico, and beyond since 2004. In turn, the Santa Fe and statewide economy has benefited from some $2 million in state gross receipts taxes and fees since 2004.