The Arts + Literature Laboratory is inviting people in the community to celebrate and support local and regional Indigenous culture and heritage at the Native Art Market on Saturday, Nov. 8, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Dakota Mace [MFA ’17] and Paige Skenandore are the co-founders and co-directors of the Native Art Market. Mace is an interdisciplinary artist who focuses on translating the language of Diné history and beliefs. Skenandore creates custom beadwork and porcupine quillwork art pieces, and teaches various Indigenous art workshops and classes throughout Wisconsin, including classes at Arts + Literature Laboratory.
“The beauty of the market is that you get to meet directly with the artists who are creating a lot of these pieces,” Mace tells Madison365.
More than 40 Native artists will share and sell their work spanning a wide range of traditional and contemporary art forms that include Indigenous beadwork, quillwork, weaving, leather work, metals, basketry, clothing, and more at the Native Art Market, which was first established in 2023.
“It was actually something that initially started when I reached out to the Arts and Lit Laboratory … something that really kind of inspired me was thinking about ways to support local and regional Indigenous communities,” Mace says. “I really wanted to extend that to Madison, specifically, thinking about different ways we can support a community that has always been here and present, but also historically pretty relevant within the space. So what started as a pretty small market has really grown in the last three years.”
The first Native Art Market had about 18 Native American artists. This Saturday’s market will have more than 40 artists.