The Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival takes place June 25-26, 2022 in Indianapolis, returning as an in-person event for the first time since 2019. More than 140 Native artists from across the United States and Canada will be at the Eiteljorg Museum to show and sell their exquisite jewelry, pottery, paintings, beadwork, weavings, carvings, and more.
This year’s market weekend will be an especially meaningful celebration of Native cultures: It is the 30th annual Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival and coincides with the grand reopening of the museum’s newly redesigned Native American Galleries, a defining capstone project in the museum’s history.
“There is so much deep meaning for me as we celebrate the 30th Indian Market,” said Pahponee (Kickapoo / Potawatomi), a pottery and sculpture artist who has shown her art at the market each year it has been held. “As a descendant of great nations who have lived in this area, I always feel like I am coming home each year. There is much to say about how this great event has evolved. This is one of my very favorite markets…always!”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and state and local health precautions in effect at the time, the Eiteljorg could not hold an in-person market and festival in 2020 and 2021. Instead, the Eiteljorg in 2021 was able to support the artists and performers by hosting a successful all-virtual Indian Market that brought together artists and buyers online. The museum is pleased to be able to welcome back artists, collectors, performers and market-goers in person in 2022.
Artists participate through a juried selection and must be members of a federally or state-recognized tribe. Many of the artists also submit their artwork for judging as part of the weekend’s juried art competition, which includes awards and cash prizes across various categories. Artists’ booths will be inside the museum and outdoors on the Eiteljorg grounds.
“I enjoy the entire celebration Indian Market represents,” Pahponee added. “Mostly, I enjoy how art has the power to bring all of us people together, and how art can inspire each of us toward actions of greatness. This world class event is a true treasure for the Museum and for the city of Indianapolis.”
Market-goers this year will also get to experience the completely reconstructed and reinstalled $6 million Native American Galleries and Expressions of Life: Native Art in North America, opening June 25. The new galleries are designed to showcase Native art in a multi-sensory space creating a contextual experience organized around the themes of relation, continuation and innovation, demonstrating a continuum of Native art told through the voices of Native Americans.
For Eiteljorg Museum members, free admission to the market is available for the individual named on the museum membership card with a reduced admission price of $15 for two adult guests. Non-member adult tickets to Indian Market and Festival are $20 at the gate either day. Advance discount tickets of $15 can be purchased online at www.eiteljorg.org or by calling 317.636.9378. Youth and children ages 17 and under are free. Tickets to Indian Market and Festival also include admission to the entire museum and the new Native American Galleries.
There will be a variety of food options, including delectable fry bread. Visitors of all ages will enjoy a wide range of entertaining cultural performances, including music, dance and storytelling, as well as family art-making activities. Performers on the Indian Market outdoor stage under The Sails include five Native groups of various music genres and styles, who perform on both days, June 25-26. They are: Woodland Sky Native American Dance Company; Ed Kabotie and Tha ’Yoties; Randy, Rykelle and Raven Kemp; Innastate; and Wade Fernandez. Visit Eiteljorg.org/IndianMarketandFestival for a schedule of events.
The 30th annual Indian Market and Festival is presented by the Indiana Corn Marketing Council and the Indiana Soybean Alliance. Additional support comes from the Central Indiana Community Foundation, Ice Miller, the Indiana Arts Commission and the Arts Council of the City of Indianapolis.
During market weekend, a new special exhibition will be open inside the Eiteljorg Museum: Celebrating 30 Years of Indian Market and Festival, featuring Native works that were past winning entries of the juried art competition and were added to the museum’s collections. That exhibit runs April 30 to August 14.
Visitors to the Eiteljorg during market weekend also can experience two other exhibits: Warhol’s West, a traveling exhibition featuring Andy Warhol’s screenprint portraits of iconic Western figures, continues through August 7. Contemporary Native Art 101 looks at contemporary works by Native artists across several decades, and continues through early 2023. All are included with Indian Market admission.
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