please wait
Summer arrived in Santa Fe on the last weekend of June with blistering hot weather and a flurry of people in town for the opening of the Opera. Some Santa Fe residents have a love-hate relationship with summer and the influx of people and increase in activity that this season brings. However, most look forward to the hustle and bustle of all of the cultural activities-Opera Weekend, Art Santa Fe, the Folk Art Market, Spanish Market, Indian Market, and much more. Summer means seeing old friends, socializing late into the night, attending countless gallery openings, musical events, and other festive occasions. Those of us who work in the arts in Santa Fe know that our "summer" vacations will take place in the fall. Summer is our busy season. It's when the rest of the world comes to us!
Like much of the West, we were under the thrall of a blistering heat wave for a couple of weeks. Fortunately, living in the high desert, we have much less humidity than other places, and so it is more bearable. But we all eagerly await the arrival of monsoon season, which cools each day off with afternoon thunderstorms. This week, the monsoons arrived! So did planeloads of artists and art lovers from around the world-all here for two very special events.
Art Santa Fe is the biennial art fair organized by Charlotte Jackson, at which art dealers from around the world set up booths and show the work of the artists they represent. This year it's taking place at El Museo Cultural in the Railyard, and galleries from as far away as London and Germany are represented. Just up the hill this weekend is an even more international event-the International Folk Art Market. Started just four years ago, this event has become one of the most eagerly anticipated of the summer. Artists from around the globe-Africa, Asia, South America, and Europe-bring their work to sell for two days up on Museum Hill. Santa Fe has a rich tradition of folk art and folk art collecting-and this wonderful event (along with our wonderful International Folk Art Museum) has put our small town firmly at the center of the folk art map.
These two diverse events exemplify why Santa Fe continues to be an exciting place for lovers of art of all kinds to visit. From folk art to fine art, ancient traditions to cutting-edge contemporary, on one weekend you can feast your eyes and travel the globe!