The International Folk Art Market of 2025 is like going around the world in a weekend without ever leaving the Santa Fe Railyard. “This year is our 21st birthday, so we’re expecting to have a lot of fun,” says Executive Director Stacey Edgar.

International Folk Art Market, July 10-13, 2025

With 142 traditional folk artists representing 57 different countries, Edgar is thrilled about the variety of artists and mediums: textiles in apparel and for the home, handwoven rugs, jewelry, ceramics, woodwork, 2-D art, sculpture, glasswork, handmade paper, leather work, baskets, and metalwork. Among 40 new artists, the market is welcoming Austria and Bhutan for the first time.

“We have such a strong group of artists who are really the culture-bearers for their communities, keeping traditions alive and even reviving cultural traditions,” Edgar says, all of whom exemplify the market’s core values: women’s empowerment, innovation in folk art, sustainability, traditional heritage — and, of course, artistic excellence.

How the Market Comes to Be

The market’s Selection and Artist Placement Committees shape its personality. The Selection Committee reviews over 700 applications each year, whittling them down to those of the highest quality that best represent their traditions. “By my definition, folk art is rooted in a cultural tradition, in a place, and in a community: it’s historically made by the folk, for the folk,” says Selection Committee Chair Cristin McKnight Sethi. Her committee recommends around 300 exceptional applications to the Artist Placement Committee, which further edits them into a market of around 150 artists with variety, scope and appeal. Suzanne Sugg, who chairs the Artist Placement Committee and sits on the Board of Directors, is particularly excited about one of the market’s new artists: Juana Gomez Ramirez from Chiapas, Mexico, who creates beautiful ceramic jaguar sculptures. “You’ll be mesmerized because they really look like they are in motion,” Sugg says.

Both Sugg and Sethi have strong academic and practical backgrounds in art, especially textiles. Sugg studied fashion design, textile, and merchandising and worked in the American wool industry, and, in addition to being an avid art and textile collector herself, designed handbags using antique textiles, leather, recycled mink coats and Tibetan lamb’s wool pelts. “Working with textiles, weaving yardage, needlepoint and knitting yarns, fibers, metals, and clay from my multiple collections and traveling the world has trained my eye in colors, textures, and designs which are very important to looking at traditional folk art from around the world,” she explains.

How to Explore the Best International Folk Art Market

Sethi is a curator, educator and writer with more than two decades of experience working with textiles and craft-based media. In addition to her work with the Folk Art Market, she serves on the editorial board of The Textile Museum Journal and is the Director of Education at Textile Center, a national center for fiber art based in Minneapolis, MN. Sethi advises Folk Art Market visitors to give themselves a full day — if not the whole weekend — to revel in the experience of the beautiful handmade art. “The pleasure of the market is taking it slowly, stopping to look at the things that catch your eye, to touch the fabric, to turn over a ceramic pot to see what the foot looks like,” she says. “Give yourself time to enjoy the pleasure of looking.”

In addition to the art, the market offers on-stage live music and dance, roving buskers, artist demonstrations, and hands-on workshops. Even in the days leading up to the market, there’s lots to see. On Wednesday evening, July 9, the IFAM Community Celebration Parade kicks off the market, bringing every country up on stage to celebrate their artists, followed by a concert of global musicians at the Railyard Water Tower.

Special Features of 2025’s International Folk Art Market

Once the market is in full swing, the fun doesn’t stop. On Friday afternoon, July 11, there will be a lecture with two experts in textiles and biodiversity from National Geographic, discussing how what we wear brings us closer to nature — or pushes us farther away. On Saturday evening, July 12 the market is partnering with AMP Productions to host a Saturday Night Market and concert.

Sunday is IFAM’s community day, made possible by a partnership with New Mexico True. You’ll still need a ticket, but attendance is free. “It’s really our family day,” Edgar says, with a children’s passport program where kids can collect stickers from each of the countries, giving them an opportunity to talk to the artists and ask questions. “We want to make sure that the market’s accessible so that anybody who wants to attend, can,” Edgar says.

Story by Annabella Farmer
Photos by Gabriella Marks

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Traditional Spanish Market is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to immerse yourself in New Mexican culture, whether you’re a first-time visitor or a long-time devotee. “I think what makes our market so unique and sets us apart is the unwavering dedication to the traditional materials, tools, techniques, and imagery,” says Program Coordinator Brissa Chilton-Garcia. “It’s a one-of-a-kind show in the nation, dedicated to preserving an art form that really only exists here.”

Traditional Spanish Market, July 26 – 27, 2025

Born in Mexico and raised in northern New Mexico, Chilton-Garcia grew up in a creative family, exploring art forms from flamenco to micaceous pottery. “My roots and upbringing have really been connected to New Mexico,” she says, and she’s dedicated to sharing her reverence for the culture through her work with Traditional Spanish Market.

With 150 juried artists and more than 30 youth artists, the market’s talent goes through a rigorous screening process to verify their Hispanic heritage or nativity to New Mexico or Southern Colorado. Then, a committee evaluates their work to ensure that it adheres to Hispanic cultural traditions and the market’s standard of excellence. The market boasts 18 categories of art with roots in the 16th century, including colcha embroidery, gesso reliefs, retablos, straw applique, tinwork and more, all informed by the culture and environment of New Mexico.

“Our artists really commit to the authenticity of preserving their art forms,” Chilton-Garcia says. “We have weavers who farm their own sheep, shear the wool, dye it using natural pigments from native plants and weave on traditional looms.” Devotional art is also a big part of Spanish Market, stemming from the creation of pieces like bultos (carved wooden statues of religious figures) and retablos (2-D paintings of religious figures on wood), which were originally created by families who wanted to have their faith represented in their homes.

Beyond the Spanish Market

Complementing the art is the immersive experience of Santa Fe’s historic plaza, where you can see live performances like Spanish guitar or local New Mexican bands, and try some delicious local cuisine at the food court. Chilton-Garcia and her team are working to make Traditional Spanish Market a seamless experience for both visitors and artists, with improvements like UPS on site at the information booth to assist visitors with shipping needs. Parking in downtown Santa Fe is always tight, so check for updates on parking, travel, and other event details, on the market website.

The Traditional Spanish Market Mass takes place on Sunday from 9-10 am at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis de Assisi, followed by a traditional procession from the cathedral to the plaza bandstand and a blessing of the artists. The Contemporary Hispanic Market is the same weekend, so there’s lots to see.

Story by Annabella Farmer
Photos by Gabriella Marks

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Born and raised in New Mexico, Contemporary Hispanic Market president Ramona Vigil-Eastwood has always been about breaking molds. She dates her career in the arts all the way back to the first grade, when as a Spanish speaker at an English-speaking school, she’d pass her time in class by drawing. She learned she “could draw anything — whatever was coming out of my head,” she says.

Contemporary Hispanic Market, July 26 – 27, 2025

Today, she strives to show fellow artists that they are limited only by their own imaginations. “We bring in artists that are versatile, who don’t stick to a traditional form of work,” she says. The market’s categories include ceramics, fiber and textiles, jewelry, glass art, watercolors, metalwork, mixed media art, sculpture, woodwork and recycled found object work, to name just a few. All artists are New Mexico residents and must be of at least one-quarter Hispanic descent. The market draws collectors from across the country and beyond to see the best of contemporary Hispanic art, often with roots in Spanish aesthetics and artistic traditions like tinwork, retablos and woodcarving, but always with a fresh twist. For Vigil-Eastwood, ingenuity is the key: “We let them be free with their artwork so that they can keep creating.”

How the Artists Join the Market

A yearly jury process ensures that the market brings in new artists and keeps the work of returning artists fresh. At this year’s market, she’s thrilled to be introducing 44 new artists, as well as many familiar faces. “That gives me the most joy to know that these folks are still out there working on their art and their craft,” Vigil-Eastwood says. She’s particularly excited to welcome returning artists like Marco Antonio Oviedo II, a santero who also creates bronze artifacts that bring the spirits of goddesses, saints and heroes to life, and first-time exhibitor Ignacio Godinez, who crafts Western-themed sculptures and life-size scenes out of barbed wire salvaged from ranches where he works as a fence contractor.

The market began in the early eighties with a handful of booths in the courtyard of the Palace of the Governors. Today, 134 booths span four blocks on Lincoln Avenue and Marcy Street, just off the Santa Fe Plaza. Traditional Spanish Market takes place on the same dates, so plan to check out both events for a weekend full of appreciation of New Mexico’s rich cultural heritage.

A professional jewelry designer in her own right, Vigil-Eastwood has been active in the art world since 1976, raising her four children while traveling to art shows across the country. Her kids describe “growing up underneath a table” at their mom’s art shows, swearing they’d grow up to get “real jobs —” but they all ended up in the arts anyway. This year she’s proud to show her own jewelry at the Contemporary Hispanic Market.

Story by Annabella Farmer
Photos by Gabriella Marks

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