SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
2017 World Famous Winter Spanish Market
DEC 2 from 9AM – 5PM | DEC 3 from 9AM – 4PM
at the National Hispanic Cultural Center
(Albuquerque, NM) The Spanish Colonial Arts Society’s Winter Spanish Market returns to Albuquerque for the fifth successive year on Saturday, December 2nd and Sunday, December 3rd this year. This year we have the great fortune to be at the NHCC campus for the event. Founded in Santa Fe in 1988, this will be Winter Market’s 29th year since it emerged as an offshoot from the original Spanish Market which takes place in Santa Fe every summer.
This year’s Winter Market will bring 70 artists to Albuquerque, giving members of the general public and collectors alike an opportunity to make early holiday purchases while keeping away from the madness which is the norm at big box stores after Thanksgiving. More than that, this event gives potential buyers the opportunity to buy a piece of New Mexico history, as the traditional techniques and imagery which Spanish Market Artists use link them directly in a lineage and tradition which goes back over 400 years. Along with traditional Native Art, traditional Spanish Colonial Art is one of New Mexico’s unique cultural treasures, revered and collected by the cognoscenti and by members of the general public all over the world.
All traditional Spanish Colonial styles are represented including bultos, weaving, retablos, furniture, tinwork, straw appliqué and colcha embroidery. A special category of Innovations within Tradition, which will also be included, was introduced several years ago to allow artists and artisans an opportunity to think out of the box and create works of art using non-traditional imagery and techniques.
Winter Spanish Market opens on Saturday, December 2 at 9:00AM and continues through 5:00PM. Saturday evening enjoy the NHCC Museums opening of The Art of Christmas: New Mexico Style, featuring the Duran Family Christmas Tree with original ornaments by 125 New Mexican artists, many of whom are participating in Winter Spanish Market.
Market reopens on Sunday, December 3 at 9:00AM and will close at 4:00PM. Throughout the Market, there will be musicians and performers on stage entertaining the audience with New Mexican Folk music and dance. In addition, see the artist demonstrations, lectures, book-signing and enjoy New Mexican cuisine at Pop Fizz and/or La Fonda del Bosque. Tickets for the weekend are $6 an individual and $10 for two people.
We owe a great debt of gratitude to our partners at the NHCC for their help in putting on this year’s Winter Spanish Market. Thanks, are also due to our major sponsors, the County of Bernalillo; the City of Albuquerque; the Hispanic Heritage Committee; Hutton Broadcasting/SantaFe.com; KUNM 89.9; KRQE; KSWV 810; KANW 89.1 and the New Mexico Arts.
For further information or tickets, please call the Spanish Colonial Arts Society at 505-982-2226, or go to spanishcolonial.org.
