By Gussie Fauntleroy
Meet the 2005 SWAIA Fellowship Award winners—and find out what’s happening at Santa Fe’s Indian Market
Every year since 1980, a handful of the most promising, talented, and innovative American Indian artists in the country are chosen to receive Fellowship Awards from the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA), the organization behind the Santa Fe Indian Market—the biggest, most prestigious Native art fair in the country. The 2005 event, taking place August 18-21, will draw as many as 80,000 attendees who will spend millions of dollars on paintings, sculpture, jewelry, pottery, textiles, and carvings from nearly 1,100 participating artists representing 100 federally recognized tribes. It’s the busiest week of Santa Fe’s summer high season when the Indian Market booths go up, the artists roll in with their pickups packed with prized pieces, and the crowds gather at dawn to shop.
This year’s eight fellowship recipients will all take part in the market, where they’ll be recognized at various ceremonies. They receive cash awards of $3,000 each, which are generally used for supplies, equipment, or other means of furthering their careers. Many past fellowship winners have gone on to national and international acclaim, among them Choctaw bead artist Marcus Amerman, Hopi textile artist Ramona Sakiestewa, and Santa Clara Pueblo ceramic artist Tammy Garcia. Here is a look at the SWAIA Fellowship Award winners for 2005 . . .
Featured in August 2005