The Museum of Spanish Colonial Art presents the 

57th Annual Traditional Spanish Market

July 26 & 27, 2008

Santa Fe, NM — With the generous support of the Qwest Foundation, the rich Hispanic culture of Northern New Mexico will be celebrated at the 57th Annual Traditional Spanish Market, Saturday and Sunday, July 26 & 27, 2008 on the Santa Fe Plaza. A destination event for residents and visitors alike, Spanish Market features handcrafted traditional arts by 250 local Hispanic artists, continuous music, art demonstrations and regional foods, and provides a unique opportunity for visitors to enjoy a taste of New Mexico’s vibrant Spanish culture, both past and present. Admission is free to the public.

The traditional artforms featured each year at Spanish Market include the following:

• Santos – depictions of religious figures in the forms of bultos (carvings in the round), retablos (paintings on wooden panels), and gesso and wood relief-carved panels.
• Hide Paintings – religious images painted on deer or elk hide
• Straw Appliqué – crosses, chests and boxes decorated with applied straw
• Textiles – hand-woven on looms using handspun yarns
• Furniture – usually made from pine using mortise and tenon joints
• Colcha – unique regional embroideries employing the colcha stitch
• Tinwork – decorative and utilitarian objects of cut and punched tin
• Ironwork – tools, fastenings, and household objects forged from iron
• Precious Metals – silver or gold jewelry, utilitarian and devotional objects
• Pottery – hand-sculpted bowls, pots, and other ware made from micaceous clay
• Bonework – decorative items, anillos (rings) and tool handles carved from bones
• Ramilletes – decorative paper garlands
• Basketry – baskets handwoven from red and brown river willowSpanish Market is organized and produced by the Spanish Colonial Arts Society which supports Hispanic artists through educational programs, grants, and the production of Spanish Market in July and Winter Spanish Market in December. These two major exhibitions give visitors a rare opportunity to meet some of the best Hispanic artists working in the region today.The Society’s collection of more than 3,500 art objects is housed at the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art at 750 Camino Lejo (Museum Hill) in Santa Fe. The collections include Spanish colonial artforms covering four centuries and four continents.Spanish Market also includes continous music and dance entertainment, art demonstrations and regional foods. This year’s schedule of events includes performances by Esteban, Manzanares, the Maria Benitez Dance Company, Cielo, salsa and mariachi.

For complete information on Spanish Market, Winter Market or the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art, please contact 505-982-2226 or kmadden@spanishcolonial.org.
Spanish Market is also funded in part by New Mexico Arts, the City of Santa Fe Arts Commission & 1% Lodgers’ Tax, and the New Mexico Department of Tourism.