of over 100,000 collectors and shoppers, all of whom travel from across the nation to peruse its booths of indigenous-made collections, including jewelry, clothing, textiles, and more. It is by far the city’s most profitable tourism event, and this year, the market was set to celebrate its 99th year running. However, like many public outdoor gatherings, the event was cancelled in April due to the coronavirus pandemic. But its organizers are not giving up on it yet.
While some of these artists already have well-established sites of their own, many of them are not currently equipped to sell their work online. This new platform aims to help those who may not be as savvy with e-commerce. “There's a large percentage who rely on it as their annual income, and this pandemic has had an adverse effect on artists who are not online at this time,” says Kimberly Peone, the executive director of SWAIA.
Other aspects of the market, however, will be trickier to navigate online. Its “Best of Show” competition, in which artists submit entries for prizes, is something that SWAIA is still figuring out how to approach virtually. “When there's judging going on for Best of Show, the judges want to make sure that the integrity of the pieces are intact,” Peone says. “It's almost a necessity that these pieces be looked at in person.