The Santa Fe Indian Market is a many-faceted gem, and Jenny Kimball, Ambassador and Board Chairman Emerita of La Fonda on the Plaza, celebrates all its intricacies with her husband, Rob, Tony Abeyta, Darrah Blackwater, Jordan Craig , TC Meggs, Marla Allison, Alex Threlfall and TABLE contributor, Joshua Rose.
A Century of the Santa Fe Indian Market
In 2022, as the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA)—the organization that hosts the Market annually—celebrated its 100th anniversary, people from all over the world filled the streets of Santa Fe to honor a century of Indigenous art, creativity, ingenuity, strength, and survival.
This special 100th celebration had a multitude of faces: fashion shows, art booths, demonstrations, lectures, panel discussions, films, performances, dances, pop-ups, music, and culinary offerings. One solid century of Indigeneity.
There was a time not too long ago when the Market was the market—a two-day visual feast of paintings, beadwork, carvings, jewelry, textiles and pottery from over 800 contemporary Indigenous artists. These days the celebration has grown ten-fold, with most attendees arriving a week before the Market takes place in order to catch everything from film festivals to fashion shows, museum exhibitions to dance and musical performances.
The SWAIA Fashion Show has, in the course of about five years, become one of the most talked-about events over the weekend, with Native fashionistas from all over North America coming together to celebrate many fashion designers such as:
- Jami Okuma (Luiseno, Shoshone-Bannock, Wailaki, and Okinawan who is also an enrolled member of the La Jolla band of Indians)
- Lauren Goodday (Arikara, Hidatsa, Blackfeet, and Plains Cree)
- Jason Baerg (Metis)
- Himikalas Pamela Baker (Musgamakw Dzawada’enuxw, Tlingit, and Haida)
- Catherine Blackburn (Patuanak Saskatchewan, of Dene and European ancestry)
- Cody Sanderson (Dine’)
- Orlando Dugi (Dine’)
- Korina Emmerich
- Dorothy Grant (Haida)
- Lesley Hamton (Anishinaabe)
- Patricia Michaels (Taos Pueblo)
- Yolonda Skelton
In past years, Indigenous film and television stars such as Kiowa Gordon of Dark Winds joined the lively, standing-room-only crowd and walked the runway as models for many of the designers.
From La Fonda to the Living Room
All of these events happen independently yet fall under the welcoming umbrella of SWAIA’s small team of dedicated employees and volunteers who work tirelessly to accommodate the nearly 100,000 visitors who attend the market each year.
La Fonda on the Plaza also recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. Located right in the bustling historic center of Santa Fe, the hotel has long been a conduit and gathering spot for the market, especially when it came under the direction of Jenny Kimball.
Kimball, who is now Ambassador and Board Chairman Emerita, became an investor in the historic hotel in the early 2000s and ever since has made Indigenous art one of the hotel’s primary focuses. A tour of the hotel will find contemporary art by artists such as Marla Allison, Tony Abeyta, George Alexander, Mateo Romero, Sheldon Harvey, and Jordan Craig.
Each year, the hotel acquires significant works of art from many of the Santa Fe Indian Market participants. The hotel’s first female architect, Mary Elizabeth Colter, started this tradition by acquiring works from a variety of Pueblo painters such as Romando Vigil, Julian Martinez, and Tomas Vigil.
A Gathering of Artists and Friends
Just as Kimball opens her hotel to the many guests, artists, and events that make the Santa Fe Indian Market one of the most highly anticipated art events in the country, one evening after Market this past summer, she and her husband Rob opened their home to a small group of Native artists and friends for an evening of inspired cuisine, art, and conversation.
Just like her hotel, Kimball’s home features a vast collection of contemporary art that she has purchased from many of the leading Native artists today, with fresh pieces by Allison, Craig, and Abeyta. Those pieces came to life that evening, as the artists present for the special dinner illuminated the artwork with intimate stories from their studios and lives.
There are houses in Santa Fe and there are houses that feel more like retreats. Kimball’s home is such a place: long patios and verandas opening up to a lush, verdant green secret garden filled with wildflowers, apple trees, and a gently flowing stream.
Art, Food, and the Beauty of Belonging
It’s one of the few homes that takes in the intimate beauty of the Santa Fe landscape rather than some of the grand vistas found in mountain-area homes. They grilled steaks outside to bring the outdoors into the meal, then served dinner on a beautifully appointed table set in front of tall windows overlooking the lush garden.
Tony Abeyta, a mainstay on the Native art scene since the late ‘80s, told stories about his lunches with the notoriously private Agnes Martin. Abeyta lived in Taos and would drive once a month to Martin’s home and take her to lunch. One time, he showed up and she announced that this would be their last lunch together. Martin died a few weeks later at the age of 92.
La Fonda Executive Chef Lane Warner and Chef de Cuisine Randy Tapia occasionally interrupted Abeyta’s stories of Martin with new offerings—wonderful bites that fused seafood, regional spices, and traditional flavors into plates that looked like works of art.
In recent years, museums, foundations, and art centers across the country have brought Native art to the forefront, finally recognizing its strength and influence on the contemporary world.
Female Artists Leading the Way
And it is art by Native women that leads the charge. Allison and Craig imbued the evening with their quiet charm and grace, sharing stories of recent successes in the market. Allison spoke about her recent move to northern California and shared stories from her upbringing in Laguna Pueblo.
Jenny Kimball dinner participants include Tony Abeyta, Darrah Blackwater, Jordan Craig, TC Meggs, Marla Allison, Alex Threlfall, Rob and Jenny Kimball and Joshua Rose.
Allison has been a participating artist at the Santa Fe Indian Market for over a decade and her work has become highly collectible during that time. Allison talked of her recent landscapes, her foray into painting outdoors, and the friendships she has created at Market with collectors over the years.
Craig, an emerging artist with an incredible international following, shared stories of her art fair experiences, including a recent trip to Miami where Hales Gallery showcased her work at the prestigious Art Basel. Craig is currently the artist-in-residence at the Anderson Ranch Art Center in Aspen, CO.
In 2022, Craig had a solo exhibition at the October Gallery in London and this year she will have a solo exhibition at the Hales Gallery in the heart of Chelsea, New York City. In 2023, Craig also had an exhibition titled Rituals of Devotion at the McEvoy Foundation for the Arts in San Francisco. Outside of art, she owns a lingerie company, Shy Natives, with her sister, Madison.
Story by Joshua Rose
Photography by Tira Howard
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