Zuni Artist-Owned Gallery to Open in Zuni Pueblo 

Published August 9, 2019

Ancestral Rich Treasures of Zuni Cooperative (ARTZ) will open August 10

ZUNI, N.M. —  Ancestral Rich Treasures of Zuni Cooperative – ARTZ – is Zuni Pueblo’s first and only multi-artist owned and managed business. Its gallery opens August 10 in the Old Post Office, Zuni’s prime retail location near Middle Village. Zuni Pueblo ArtWalk will also use the gallery space as a point on its studio tour.

“We’re finally at that threshold of opening our doors to the community,” said ARTZ President Keith Edaakie, “so people can see the tremendous skills that our artists have in this community.”

Zuni artistic expression is so often imitated, from locally in New Mexico to China and the Philippines, that ARTZ was conceived in part as a solution to the longstanding challenge faced by Zuni artists to prove the authenticity of their work and thereby neutralize fraudulent markets.

Built of sandstone, so naturally cool all summer, the ARTZ gallery will provide Zuni artists, the community at large, and visitors and art collectors, with a central place to display and market certified authentic Zuni art, including pottery, textiles, paintings, carved fetishes, and Zuni’s unique style of silver inlay known worldwide.

In addition to retail sales, ARTZ will use the gallery space, the Old Post Office, for a wide range of projects and workshops, including to develop and test authenticity standards and measures, and to educate visitors about the differences between authentic and inauthentic Zuni art. “Our main goal is for artists to succeed,” said Edaakie.

Also available to the whole community, any artist can use the ARTZ photography studio. “For those who want to apply for an art show,” noted ArtWalk Vice President Jeff Shetima, “we have the equipment they can use to take gallery-grade photos of their work.” “We also want to provide services such as financial management and social media workshops, not just for the members, but for the whole community,” said Shetima.

For the Coop’s annual ARTZ fee, members secure retail space along Zuni’s main thoroughfare, as well as internet access to global markets with their own websites and many other benefits. “I believe that will make this take off,” Shetima added. “A lot of our customers are online, and Zuni is known worldwide for our arts.”

“ARTZ is completely owned and run by artists in our community,” said Mr. Edaakie. “This distinguishes us from other galleries in our community. Being a member you have that sense of ownership. You have that sense of direction we go as a group.”

Each day Tuesday through Sunday, two Zuni artists will co-manage the ARTZ gallery, where visitors can purchase directly through Coop members while learning far more about any piece.

ARTZ is founded in partnership with A:shiwi College and Career Readiness Center, located in Zuni, the Zuni Tribal Council, Zuni Main Street, and The Cooperative Catalyst of New Mexico and supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, W. K. Kellogg Foundation NM and the Chamiza Foundation of Santa Fe, NM. ARTZ founders previously launched Zuni Pueblo ArtWalk, the popular Zuni artist studio tour that enables visitors to meet with and purchase from Zuni artists even more directly in their home studios and galleries.

The ARTZ Grand Opening will be on August 10^th at 9:00 a.m., with the ribbon cutting and opening ceremony at 1:00 p.m. The gallery is located at 1192 State Highway 53, Zuni, NM 87327. Standard hours are Tuesday-Saturday 10-6, and Sunday 12-5 with some exceptions for ceremonial activities and off-site art markets. Visitors should contact the gallery at (505) 782-0640/ artzcooperative@gmail.com to confirm hours. The ARTZ launch also can be supported at https://www.gofundme.com/home-for-ancestral-rich-treasures-of-zuni

and found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Ancestral-Rich-Treasures-of-Zuni-Cooperative-2318866865024894/.