Santa Fe International Folk Art Market

To foster economic and cultural sustainability for folk artists and folk art worldwide and to create intercultural exchange opportunities uniting peoples of the world.

In 2010, the Market attracted 22,000 visitors and generated $2.1 million in sales in over two and a half days with 90% going home with the participants. 135 folk artists including representatives from artists’ cooperatives, represented 50 nations and earned an average of $15,700 from the weekend-long Market, close to ten times what many would typically earn in an entire year in their home countries. We determined that 30,000 cooperative members, 92% come from developing nations, were represented at the Market last year. Earnings from the Market help empower these cooperatives, impacting and sustaining the lives of an estimated 300,000 community members. The Market also provided improved business skill and entrepreneurial training and more market access for participating artists that helps lead them to self-sustainable livelihoods. The organization increased revenue from private donors by 20%, enlisted the services of 216 local vendors, has an estimated $16 million economic impact on the city of Santa Fe and the surrounding region.