Over the first weekend of June, Tesoro Cultural Center will celebrate its 19th annual Indian Market & Powwow. One of our favorite aspects of this cultural celebration is the juried art show and marketplace, featuring the inspiring work of American Indian artists, many of whom have won awards at the Santa Fe Indian Market and the Heard Museum in Arizona. We are excited to feature a few of the artists joining us this year – some for the very first time – and we look forward to seeing their beautiful creations in person!
For an updated list of all 2019 participating artists, visit this page.
Kathleen Wall
Taught as a child by her mother and aunts to work with clay, artist Kathleen Wall carries on the matrilineal tradition by creating her renowned sculptures. Wall is from the Pueblo of Jemez, where she is an active member of her tribal community. Her work is grounded in ancestral process and techniques, and is reflective of her ever-evolving relationship to her Pueblo heritage. Wall has been a featured artist on the cover of New Mexico Magazine, as well as a fellow with the South Western Association of Indian Artists.
Peterson Yazzie
Peterson Yazzie’s painting starts with a splash of paint sparked by an idea. The award-winning artist then completes a piece with intuition and experimentation, inspired by the culture and personal experiences of the Navajo. Yazzie also creates works that he has coined “Yei Wall Sculptures,” which are carved, painted and adorned with natural exotic feathers.
Darby Raymond-Overstreet
Navajo/Diné pattern designs materialize through Darby Raymond-Overstreet’s portraits, landscapes and abstract pieces. A proud member of the Navajo nation, Darby is an award-winning digital artist and printmaker who cites traditional Diné/Navajo textiles woven in the late 1800s to 1950s as a key source of her inspiration.
Sharon ‘Waawaaskonenhens’ Trudeau
“Beading is my life’s passion and picking up that needle is like opening up a door to my own little world,” says artist Sharon ‘Waawaaskonenhens’ Trudeau. Sharon draws on her Odawa heritage to create colorful and original beadwork designs. In addition to this year’s Powwow, Sharon’s work can be seen at art shows nation-wide.
Deborah Lujan
Award-winning landscape photographer Deborah Lujan will also join us at our 19th annual Indian Market & Powwow. Deborah specializes in images of her ancestral home, Taos, New Mexico, and her work explores the intersection of light and shadow to evoke movement, as seen in her photograph, “San Geronimo Church,” below.
Tesoro Cultural Center’s Indian Market & Powwow is a yearly tribute to the American Indian tribes that shaped the cultural community of Bent’s Old Fort, an important fur trading post that operated along the famous Santa Fe Trail in the 1830s. In celebration of early Southwestern history, Tesoro hosts nationally acclaimed artists and dancers for an art-centered gathering, as well as educational and interactive exhibits on American Indian culture, for a fun-filled, family weekend. Children will love the hawk and eagle demonstrations from HawkQuest, as handlers discuss the importance of raptors in Indian culture. Concessions will be provided by Tocabe and The Fort Restaurant.
When: Saturday, June 1 and Sunday, June 2; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission: $10; Children 12 and under are free. FREE on-site parking available.
