MUSEUM OF INDIAN ARTS & CULTURE ANNOUNCES “SAVE OUR TREASURES” CAMPAIGN AND SEVENTH ANNUAL NATIVE TREASURES: INDIAN ARTS FESTIVAL

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MUSEUM OF INDIAN ARTS & CULTURE ANNOUNCES “SAVE OUR TREASURES” CAMPAIGN
AND SEVENTH ANNUAL NATIVE TREASURES: INDIAN ARTS FESTIVAL
                                                                                                
Santa Fe, New Mexico —The seventh annual Native Treasures: Indian Arts Festival is set for Memorial Day weekend, Saturday, May 28 and Sunday, May 29, 2011 at the Santa Fe Convention Center.  More than 200 museum-quality artists from over 40 tribes and pueblos will showcase and sell their pottery, jewelry, glass, painting, sculpture, carvings, textiles and other art. 

Proceeds from Native Treasures support the exhibits and education programs at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture (MIAC).  This year’s Native Treasures is especially important as it will support a vital new campaign announced by the museum called “Save Our Treasures.”

“Over the last 80 years, as the collections of the MIAC and the Laboratory of Anthropology have grown,  a series of piecemeal solutions has been cobbled together to store what are now over 10 million Native American objects.  These irreplaceable and invaluable pieces of history are currently scattered in basements and storerooms throughout the city,” explains Shelby Tisdale, Director of MIAC.  “Not only do these storage ‘solutions’ put the pieces at risk in non-climate-controlled environments (that have also been victim to fire and flood), but the collection is inaccessible to scholars and Native Americans who want to study their own cultural history.” 

The “Save Our Treasures” campaign will provide funds to move important historical collections into one safe environment where they can be properly preserved and made accessible to the interested public. 

The new Center for New Mexico Archeology is currently under construction southwest of Santa Fe.  Once the  building is ready  more than $2 million must be raised to move and store the critical art and archeology collections—the cultural heritage of New Mexico—to this new facility. 

“The wonderful thing about shopping at Native Treasures is that you get to support talented Native artists and the ‘Save Our Treasures’ program simultaneously,” says Ardith Eicher, Co-Chair of the show.  “Where else can you bring home a beautiful piece from a top-level artist and know that you also contributed to a vitally important project for all of New Mexico?  It’s a great way to get your summer started.” 

Weaving demonstrations by Toadlena Trading Post, an eclectic mix of Native and non-Native music, and delicious food will add to the festive atmosphere.

"As always, we have invited a very strong group of artists, from established masters to the brightest emerging artists, all of whom are producing museum-quality work,” says Jane Buchsbaum, Artist Chair.  “Many of their pieces are in the permanent collection of the museum.  Native Treasures showcases excellent art, but it’s important to add that we have beautiful things in every price range.”

Living Treasure Award
As has been the tradition for the last several years, Native Treasures will also honor an established master with its “Native Treasures Living Treasure Award.”  This year’s recipient is famed Santa Clara sculptor, Roxanne Swentzell.  Roxanne’s distinctive sculptures grace a variety of venues from Cartier in Paris to the Santa Fe Convention Center.  Her clay and bronze sculptures represent the complete spectrum of the human spirit with its range of emotions.  In addition to her outstanding body of work, Swentzell has also been a generous supporter of the museum, the community, and many non-profit organizations, some of the criteria for this award.

Native Treasures Collectors’ Sale
In addition to the festival in May, Native Treasures organizers have announced that the second annual Native Treasures Collectors’ Sale will take place Sunday, September 18, 2011.  After a huge success in 2010, treasure-hunters will again have the opportunity to buy Native art and jewelry from collectors selling pieces direct from their collections, with part of the proceeds again benefiting the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture.  “This was a wonderful event,” says Karen Freeman, Co-Chair of Native Treasures.  “Collectors were able to make room for new art by selling the pieces that no longer fit into their collections and the rest of us were able to snap up amazing pieces.  And all of it benefited the museum that is such a cultural resource for our community.”

www.nativetreasuressantafe.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  
Calendar Listing & Information  
                                                               

NATIVE TREASURES: INDIAN ARTS FESTIVAL

WHAT:
Native Treasures, now in its seventh year, is an invitational art show and sale featuring the best Native art in the U.S.  Proceeds benefit the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture and its “Save Our Treasures” campaign.

Featuring
• More than 200 museum-quality artists from over 40 tribes and pueblos
• Best and brightest of the Indian art world
• Santa Fe’s only museum-quality Indian art show
• Musical entertainment
• Food by Cowgirl BBQ
• Relaxed, intimate event for collectors, dealers and sightseers
• 2011 “Living Treasure” award to outstanding Santa Clara sculptor, Roxanne Swentzell

WHEN:  Saturday May 28 & Sunday May 29, 2011
Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m., $10; Sunday 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Free
(Early Bird Market Saturday, 9-10 a.m., $15)
Festival tickets available at entrance.

Friday, May 27, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Benefit Pre-Sale Gala, offering special pieces selected by each artist.
Attendees will meet the artists and mingle with other collectors.
Hors d’oeuvres and wine will be served.
$100. This includes an Early Bird ticket for Saturday.
Tickets 505-982-6366, ext. 112.

WHERE:  Santa Fe Convention Center at the corner of Marcy and Grant Streets; Santa Fe, New Mexico
INFO:  505-476-1250; www.nativetreasuressantafe.org

SOME OF THE 2011 NATIVE TREASURES: INDIAN ARTS FESTIVAL ARTISTS 

Potters: Lonnie Vigil, Jody Naranjo, Robert Tenorio, Michael Kanteena, Preston Duwyenie, Lisa Holt & Harlan Reano, Caroline Carpio, Samuel Manymules, Sharon Naranjo Garcia, Judy & Lincoln Tafoya, Kathleen Wall, Janice Ortiz, Dusty & Bernice Naranjo, Elizabeth Manygoats, Cavan Gonzales, Jason Garcia, Goldenrod, Pahponee

Jewelers: Gaussoin family, Mike Bird-Romero, Maria Samora, Ernest & Veronica Benally, Cody Sanderson, Norbert Peshlakai, Fritz Casuse, Shane Hendren, Al Joe, Michael Roanhorse, Keri Ataumbi, Darryl & Rebecca Begay, Richard & Jared Chavez, Mike NaNaPing Garcia, Anthony Lovato, Ken Romero, Pat Pruitt, Althea Cajero, Steve LaRance, Benson Manygoats, Liz Wallace

Painters: Mateo Romero, Benjamin Harjo, Jr., Thomas Begay, Dolores Purdy Corcoran, Aaron Freeland, Ronald Chee, Marla Allison, Nocona Burgess, Terrance Guardipee, Raymond Nordwall, Peterson Yazzie, Yellowman

Sculptors: Roxanne Swentzell, Upton Ethelbah, Ed Archie NoiseCat, Vincent Kaydahzinne, Stephen Wall, Laura Fragua-Cota, Alvin John, Joe Cajero, Adrian Wall

Textiles/Baskets: Toadlena Trading Post, Mona Laughing, Penny Singer, Carol Naranjo

Diverse: Kenneth Williams and Craig Kelly (beadwork), Delbridge Honanie and Spencer Nutima (carving), Spooner & Ira Lujan (glass), Walter BigBee (photography), Black Eagle (warrior art), Dennis Esquivel (woodwork), Brenda Lampman (leatherwork)

FOR IMAGES, INTERVIEWS, PRESS PASSES & OTHER INFORMATION
PLEASE CONTACT Jennifer Marshall, 505.231.1776, jennifer@jmarshallplan.com

Contact:
Jennifer Marshall
505-231-1776
jennifer@jmarshallplan.com
www.jmarshallplan.com