Southwest Indian Art Fair 2012

February 18 & 19 on the Museum's Front Lawn

Letter to Artists

August 2011

Dear Artist,

Mark your calendars now for Arizona State Museum's 19th annual Southwest Indian Art Fair, southern Arizona's premier Indian art show and market, February 18 and 19, 2012!

As with past years, we celebrate our past successes while focusing on the future.

Record sales exceeded our average of $1.25 million for 2011 artists! The 2012 Southwest Indian Art Fair brings new elements to help you take advantage of this great cultural exchange and revenue generator.

To make it even easier for you to participate, we are offering shared tables for the first time. So, if you normally produce just a modest number of high-quality pieces each year, this new option will make it profitable for you to display your work at SWIAF without having to pay for an entire space on your own.

We are also now able to accept credit card payments for your booth/table fees. Please see the New Policy Guidelines page for more about paying by credit card and shared tables.

As always, we are working to expand the audience that supports you. Buyer support is the most important element for both the event and for you..

Again this year we are reaching out nationally with print ads in Santa Fean magazine's August/September Indian Market issue, and in American Indian Art magazine’s winter issue. This national visibility, we believe, will attract more buyers for you and builds on our ability to attract serious collectors, Indian art lovers, sophisticated buyers, and cultural heritage tourists.

Fair tickets can now be purchased in advance online, and “day-of” ticket sales are being expanded with extra booths and credit card capabilities. These measures are designed to reduce wait at the entrance—something our visitors have wanted for years.

And once our visitors are in the event, we are committed to keeping them engaged. To this end, we are expanding on-site food options, adding more seating, and expanding our already strong performance and demonstration offerings.

Our juried competition continues to offer the largest cash awards in the region—more than $12,000 annually. I hope you will arrive early, on Friday morning, to enter up to three of your pieces, and take advantage of this great opportunity. More about the juried competition

A very exciting new feature of 2012 is a live auction run by the Friends of Hubbell Trading Post. In addition to Navajo rugs, they will auction a range of art pieces, up to around 200 pieces in total. As an invited artist, you may submit up to two pieces and receive 80% of the sale. More about the Friends of Hubbell live auction

So, join us for the 2012 Southwest Indian Art Fair!

I encourage you to fill out and return the application as soon as possible. Please feel free to make copies for other artists you respect and in doing so, you will help us expand awareness of and support for southern Arizona's premier Indian art show and market. (NOTE: applications do not guarantee participation. We will issue invitations once applications are vetted.)

On behalf of all my colleagues at Arizona State Museum, I thank you for your ongoing interest in, participation in, and support of, Arizona State Museum's Southwest Indian Art Fair.

If you have questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me by email or by phone at 520-626-5886.

Warmly,

Martin Kim
2012 Committee Chair
Southwest Indian Art Fair

Top