The Eiteljorg Indian Market, a celebration of Native cultures, features more than 120 Native artists, plus music, dance and food, June 24-25, 2023.
Approximately 120 Native artists from across the United States and Canada will be at the Eiteljorg Museum to show and sell their jewelry, pottery, paintings, beadwork, weavings, carvings and more. Visitors can enjoy onstage cultural performances such as music, storytelling and dance.
At Indian Market and Festival, seasoned collectors and general market-goers alike appreciate the personal interactions with artists and learning about their artwork, process and cultures. The event forges relationships between artists and their collectors, builds support for and interest in Native art generally, and is a family-friendly cultural experience for those eager to learn more about Native peoples.
“Since its inception in 1993, the annual Eiteljorg Museum Indian Market and Festival has grown in stature to become one of the top Native American art markets in the country, as well as a must-do event on the downtown Indianapolis summer calendar. Artists, performers and thousands of market-goers and art buyers have come together at the Eiteljorg to celebrate Native arts and cultures,” said Alisa Nordholt-Dean, vice president for public programs and Beeler family director of education at the Eiteljorg.
To show and sell art at Indian Market and Festival, artists must be enrolled members of a federally or state-recognized tribe. Many of the participating artists also enter 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.
Market-goers also can experience the completely reimagined Native American Galleries featuring the exhibition Expressions of Life: Native Art in North America, which opened in June 2022. The new galleries showcase Native art in a multi-sensory space creating a contextual experience – organized around the themes of relation, continuation, and innovation – that demonstrates a continuum of Native art told through the voices of Native peoples.
Eager art buyers who want to get an early start on shopping can register for the Market Morning Breakfast taking place at 8 a.m. Saturday, June 24, at the museum; it includes early access to the artists’ booths, and a breakfast catered by Kahn’s Catering. For reservations ($50 for members, $60 for non-members), contact Jennifer Hiatt at [email protected] or 317.275.1360.
There will be a variety of delicious food truck options at Indian Market and Festival, including fry bread. Visitors of all ages will enjoy a wide range of cultural performances, including music, dance, and storytelling, as well as family art-making activities. Performers are scheduled on the Indian Market outdoor stage under The Sails both days, June 24-25, and are included with admission.
The signature image for the 31st annual Indian Market and Festival depicts a quillwork and beadwork bag, created by artist Monica Jo Raphael (Anishinaabe / Sičáŋğu Lakota), titled Nuh-Mah-Nuh Daawina Akiin (Homelands of the Comanche People). The image will appear on commemorative Indian Market and Festival T-shirts that will be available through the Eiteljorg Museum Store.
This year also will be the final Indian Market and Festival in which Eiteljorg President and CEO John Vanausdall will preside at the market’s arts awards presentation. Vanausdall is retiring June 30 after nearly 27 years leading the museum.
Visit Eiteljorg.org/IndianMarketandFestival for more details.
