MOIFA | NOVEMBER 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrate 70! Join Us in Uniting the Peoples of the World

Florence Dibell Bartlett was a visionary woman who moved to Santa Fe and embarked on a remarkable journey to connect the peoples of the world through the art of the handmade.

Her journey culminated in the founding of the Museum of International Folk Art (MOIFA) in 1953. We are now celebrating the museum’s 70th Anniversary, a testament to Florence Bartlett’s enduring legacy.

Over the past seven decades, the museum has been a bridge that connects diverse cultures and showcases the rich tapestry of our shared global heritage. Thanks to the generous support of donors like you, the museum has been a source of inspiration, education and enlightenment for generations of New Mexico residents and visitors alike.

Click here to read more about how the museum continues to be a bridge that connects diverse cultures and showcases the rich tapestry of our shared global heritage.

Protection: Adaptation and Resistance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The museum is opening a new traveling exhibition in the Mark Naylor and Dale Gunn Gallery of Conscience, Protection: Adaptation and Resistance on December 3, 2023, that centers Indigenous ways of knowing. Working within intergenerational learning groups and as collaborators in vibrant community networks, Alaska’s Indigenous artists invigorate traditional stories and propose resilient new futures through design, tattoo, regalia, and graphic arts. The projects featured in this exhibition elevate collaboration, allyship, and community as tools of resistance, adaptation, and cultural affirmation.

Protection: Adaptation & Resistance is a project of the Bunnell Street Art Center in Homer, Alaska. It is made possible, in part, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, The CIRI Foundation, the Alaska Community Foundation, Rasmuson Foundation, and the Alaska Humanities Forum. Lead support for the museum’s presentation in Santa Fe is generously provided by the International Folk Art Foundation, Edelma and David Huntley, Mark Naylor and Dale Gunn, and Courtney Finch Taylor and Scott Taylor and other private donors through the Museum of New Mexico Exhibition Development Fund.

This presentation of Protection complements the exhibition Ghhúunayúkata/To Keep Them Warm: The Alaska Native Parka, which opened at the museum in May 2023. Both exhibitions will be on display through April 7, 2024.

MOIFA Acquires New Work from International Folk Art Market Artists

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each year, JoAnn and Bob Balzer provide a generous donation to purchase work from an artist(s) at the International Folk Art Market. This year, Felicia Katz Harris, Curator of Asian & Oceanic Folk Art, selected a work from master jeweler Karim Oukid Ouksel (Amazigh; Kabyle-Berber).

Ouksel points out that coral has amuletic qualities, making this bracelet a sacred item. As such, it must be decorated to reinforce its sacred quality. This particular bracelet style and size is called an amechloukh, meaning (in Kabyle) a “bracelet with two doors.” Two vertical elements at the hinges represent one door through which a woman exits the home of her parents, and one through which she enters the home of her husband. Traditionally, on the evening before her wedding, woman is given two of these bracelets (one for each hand) and other wedding gifts, and her hands are decorated with henna. She then wears these bracelets to her wedding day.

Lehuauakea is a mixed-Native Hawaiian (Kānaka Maoli) artist who works with traditional kapa, created from the bark of Hawaiian mulberry trees (wauke). They were the first Native Hawaiian artist to participate in the Market made possible by funds raised by the Friends of Folk Art.

The painting, entitled Ala Pūlo’u, is grounded in the New Mexico landscape. The rainbow motif that appears in the work has multiple meanings. On the one hand, it represents Hawaii, the Rainbow State, where the rainbow (ānuenue) is understood among the Indigenous communities as a celestial pathway, a route gods take to come down to earth. It is a symbol of hope and transformation. On the other hand, given that Lehuauakea is māhū, or third gender, and identifies as nonbinary, the rainbow also signifies LGBTQ+ pride. Metaphorically, the rainbow also acts as a bridge between places that have been significant to Lehuauakea’s growth as an artist.

This piece is pending purchase, with funds generously provided by Edelma and David Huntley.

School Partnerships Continue
The new school partnership with Sweeney Elementary in Santa Fe began this month. Fourth and fifth-grade students visited the museum to meet Francisco Rodriguez, owner of Casa de Piñata in Albuquerque, and creator of works in the exhibition La Cartonería Mexicana . Francisco introduced students to his papier mâché process and shared his story as a piñatero. The students were inspired to create their own piñatas after touring the exhibition with museum.

The students were inspired to create their own piñatas after touring the exhibition with museum guide, Michelle Rodriguez. 

 To support MOIFA’s Exhibition Development Fund and/or Education Fund please contact Laura Sullivan at [email protected] or by phone at 505.216.0829.