Celebrate the 27th Annual Eiteljorg Museum Indian Market and Festival on June 22-23

World champion hoop dancer Tony Duncan (Apache/Arikara/Hidatsa) and his family will perform again at the Eiteljorg Museum Indian Market and Festival on June 22-23.
File photo courtesy of Hadley Fruits Photography.

Published April 11, 2019

Favorite artists and entertainers enliven one of nation’s top Native American art markets

INDIANAPOLIS — One of the region’s best art and cultural experiences returns to downtown Indianapolis the weekend of June 22-23: the Eiteljorg Museum Indian Market and Festival. More than 100 Native American and First Nations artists and performers from more than 50 cultures across the U.S. and Canada will converge on the Eiteljorg Museum to show and sell their fine art, including jewelry, pottery, beadwork, basketry, paintings and sculpture.

The 27th annual Indian Market and Festival takes place on the beautiful Eiteljorg grounds from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time both days, and features artists’ booths both outside and inside the museum. Seasoned art collectors and first-time market-goers alike will appreciate the personal interactions with artists and wide variety of Native fine art available. Cultural experiences and performances are a big part of the weekend, and this year’s entertainment includes dancing, music and storytelling. Thousands of visitors typically attend the market, held the weekend after Father’s Day in June each year.

“Visitors often say Indian Market and Festival broadens their cultural horizons by allowing them and their families to experience Native American art for the first time and meet the exceptional artists in person,” Eiteljorg President and CEO John Vanausdall said. “Experienced art collectors always enjoy the opportunity to purchase Native art close to home without traveling great distances. Non-collectors enjoy the memorable market and festival experiences. And returning artists appreciate the Hoosier hospitality and the opportunity to get reacquainted with old friends and meet new collectors and fans.”

After a modest start in 1993, the Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival now is considered one of the top Native American art markets in the nation. Artists are invited to 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. Ribbons and cash prizes are awarded to top artists in multiple divisions. Last year, nearly $25,000 in prize money was awarded to artists.

For the general public, adult tickets to the Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival are $15 at the gate either day. Advance adult discount tickets of $13 can be ordered online at www.eiteljorg.org or by calling 317.636.WEST (9378). Youth and children ages 17 and under are free at Indian Market and Festival. For Eiteljorg Museum members, free admission to the market is available for the individual named on the membership card, but the admission fee will apply for their non-member adult guests.

Tickets to Indian Market and Festival also include museum admission, so plan to experience the museum galleries featuring special exhibitions: A Sense of Beauty: Showcasing the Power and Beauty in Native Art and Bringing Friends Together: Contemporary Hopi Carvings from the Eagle, Perelman and Rader Collections, as well as the new Western art galleries exhibit,Attitudes: The West in American Art. Artist demonstrations and art-making opportunities for the entire family will be available both days, popular food vendors return, and market-goers also can enjoy the Museum Café and Museum Store.

Visitors to the Eiteljorg Museum Indian Market and Festival on June 22-23 can meet more than 100 Native American artists and shop for their fine art.
File photo courtesy of the Eiteljorg Museum.

A lineup of accomplished Native American performers will appear on the Indian Market and Festival stage all weekend:

·         World champion hoop dancer and flute musician Tony Duncan (Apache/Arikara/Hidatsa) and his family return to the Eiteljorg for performances and hoop-dancing workshops. Duncan and his fellow dancers astounded the crowds with their high-energy hoop-dance moves at Indian Market and Festival in 2014 and 2017, and they are back this year by popular demand.

·         The award-winning band Son of Hweeldi performs a blend of rock, soul, blues and world music based on Navajo and Apache histories that they call “resistance rock.”

·         An a capella group, Sisterz in Song, features a trio of young women vocalists from Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara cultures who perform traditional songs.

·         Cultural storyteller Jacque Tahuka Nunez performs “Journeys to the Past,” describing the lifestyle of California’s first people, the Acjachemen Nation of Orange County.

For the entertainers’ onstage performance schedule, visit www.eiteljorg.org.

For the second year in a row, the Eiteljorg will host the Market Morning Breakfast on Saturday morning June 22, for early-bird art collectors who want to meet the artists in a more relaxed setting before the big crowds arrive. Reservations are required to attend the Saturday breakfast; contact mwhistler@eiteljorg.com or 317.275.1316 for details.

The 27th annual Indian Market & Festival is sponsored by Ice Miller LLP, Arts Midwest and the Mrs. Margot L. Eccles Arts & Culture Fund, a fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation. The entertainment stage sponsor is the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation. Additional support is provided by the museum’s Mrs. Robert S. Eccles Fund.

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