Back for Its Second Year, Folk Art Market Blossoms

Summary

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Lifelong fascination with art of the people drove market supporter to realize a dream

Folk art has been a lifelong passion for Judith Espinar, one of the key movers and shakers behind the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market. "I can't remember a time when I wasn't enthralled by this work, even as a child," she says. "It took years before I was able to make it the major focus of my life, but the fascination never went away. If anything, it just grew stronger." Fate works in mysterious ways. Thus it was that Espinar, a high flyer in the corporate fashion world at the time, found herself attending a lecture in New York City on the Nelson Rockefeller collection of Mexican folk art. The speaker was a curator from the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe. It was a life-changing encounter. For years Espinar had been fascinated by the ancient art of maylica (ceramics-making) and had made many trips to the Mexican interior to search out masters of this centuries-old craft and to acquire works for her growing collection. The enthusiastic response she received from the curator, who made it clear that what Espinar regarded as a spare-time hobby was, in fact, extremely valuable research work, prompted her to leave New York, and the fashion world, and move to Santa Fe to follow her passion. In 1992, Espinar opened her store, the Clay Angel, 125 Lincoln Ave., and began networking with other leading figures in the world of folk art. "We would all meet from time to time to talk about our favorite subject, and one day the idea came up of putting together an international folk art market. The vision was so powerful - bringing artists and craftsmen to Santa Fe from all over the world to display their work - that we just had to see if we could make it happen." It took just 15 months for that initial idea to become a reality. "Everything just fell into place in the most extraordinary way," Espinar says. "The folk art museum was with us from the start, as was the Museum of New Mexico Foundation. The city was incredibly supportive also, and many wonderful people volunteered their time and expertise to get this project off the ground." The first International Folk Art Market brought in 63 artists from 36 countries and, on opening day, the organizers held their breath to see if they would get the 3,000 visitors they needed to cover their costs. As it turned out, more than that showed up in the first few hours. Final count? More than 14,000. This year the number of artists taking part has increased to about 95. A sponsor of the 2004 market was UNESCO, the United Nations agency that promotes culture worldwide. This year, as part of its renewed support, UNESCO has awarded the market $60,000 to fund a new program to teach marketing and promotional skills to participating artists. "This program sets us apart from any other market in the world," Espinar says. "It distinguishes us as an organization that invests in building artists' skills and moving them towards sustainability." Also new this year is a memorial altar in honor of two artists who took part in the 2004 market but have since died. Inspired by Mexico's famous Da de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations, the altar is the work of local photographer Ann Murdy, who has built public altars for museums in California. In addition to the two artists - Anastasio Pachacopa, a Bolivian weaver, and Rosa Elena Curruchich, a Guatemalan painter - the 10- foot-high altar will honor the memory of Tukey Koffend of Santa Fe, a folk art collector, museum supporter and volunteer at last year's market. The altars also will pay tribute to people affected by the Asian tsunami.

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Back for Its Second Year, Folk Art Market Blossoms

FOLK FACTS (or, remember to ride the bus)

The Second Annual International Folk...

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