Events

There’s always something exciting happening at the Museum of International Folk Art! Join us for our many programs listed below.

“And What Else About Beads”
Lectures and Talks

“And What Else About Beads”

February 3, 2019
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Join us for a Lecture by Earl Kessler  “And What Else About Beads”  in conjunction with Beadwork Adorns the World exhibit at the Museum of International of Art. Talk held at the Museum of Indian Art & Culture’s Auditorium.

After the talk head over to the Museum of International Folk Art for our last day of Beadwork Adorns the World  before it closes!

Free Admission for New Mexico residents with ID.

Photo: Woman’s Vest T’boli, Phillipines from the Shari and Earl Kessler Collection

Beadwork Adorns the World exhibit: The ultimate migrants, small glass beads travel the world and end up entering the cultural lives of people far away to be worked into a garment or an object of art.  This spring, the Museum of International Folk Art opens the exhibition, Beadwork Adorns the World, opening April 22, 2018 and running through February 3, 2019.

Whether these extraordinary glass beads come from the island of Murano (Venice, Italy) or the mountains of Bohemia (Czech Republic), where they start out is seldom where they end up.  No matter where they originate, the locale that uses them makes them into something specific to their own world view. 

This exhibition is about what happens to these beads when they arrive at their final destination, whether it be the African continent (Botswana, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa), to Borneo, to Burma, to India, Native North America to Latin America (Mexico, Bolivia to Ecuador). 

“Even though it’s titled Beadwork Adorns the World, this exhibit is not actually about beads,” said Khristaan Villela, Ph.D, Director of the Museum of International Folk Art. According to Guest Curator, Dr. Marsha Bol, “It is about working beads resulting in beadwork, and what a collective of beads in a garment or an object reveals about the intentions of its makers or users.”

In most parts of the world, beads, having value, are used at peak moments in life.  With their luster and sparkle, used as an adornment or surface additive, they help to heighten the effect, the impact, the meaning.  These special moments in the life of the community tend to revolve around: life stages and passages - such as birth, becoming an adult, marriage, and death; power, position, or status in the community; the high meaning of the occasion - as seen in fine dress, house and animal decoration; and, communication with the spirits.

Very few cultures have ever lived in total isolation from other peoples.  Contact with others beyond the village allows for new markets and new uses for beadwork, as well as opportunities to survive creatively.

Not all beads used in the beadwork in this exhibit are made of glass.  Beads made from metal, cloth, shell, stone, and other materials worked into objects served equally well to distinguish their wearer.   

While beadwork has a lengthy history, it is truly a living art.  Although the majority of the art works in this exhibit date from the 19th – 20st centuries, there are many 21st century examples.  Beadwork today comes in many forms – it may be a continuation of an unbroken tradition, perhaps with contemporary innovations, or it may be a revival of a lost form or something entirely new.

Learn more about the exhibit: http://moifa.org/exhibition/3348/beadwork-adorns-the-world

Media Link: http://media.newmexicoculture.org/press_releases.php?&action=detail&&releaseID=684

About the Museum of International Folk Art: http://www.internationalfolkart.org/

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Family Mornings at Folk Art
Family

Family Mornings at Folk Art

February 3, 2019
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Join us on the First FREE Sunday of the Month for a new all-ages program featuring storytime, hands-on art activities and explorations in the galleries.

  • February  3rd for “All about Beads”
  • March  3rd for “Year of the Boar”
  • April 7th for “Earth Day”

FREE for all NM residents . Funded by Museum of New Mexico Foundation Education Fund

Storytime takes place in Welcome lounge, and Hands-on art activities take place in the museum atrium. After storytime, younger children can make your own beaded necklace, and older children make Huichol inspired beaded bowls. Then do a family treasure hunt in our ’Common Bonds’ exhibit to find horses, or explore the last day of our ’Beadwork’ adorns the world exhibit.

Fun for the whole family. FREE for all NM residents . Funded by Museum of New Mexico Education Fund

About the Museum of International Folk Art: http://www.internationalfolkart.org/

Founded in 1953 by Florence Dibell Bartlett, the Museum of International Folk Art’s mission is to foster understanding of the traditional arts to illuminate human creativity and shape a humane world. The museum holds the world’s largest international folk art collection of more than 150,000 objects from six continents and over 150 nations, representing a broad range of global artists whose artistic expressions make Santa Fe an international crossroads of culture. For many visitors, fascination with folk art begins upon seeing the whimsical toys and traditional objects within the Girard Collection. For others, the international textiles, ceramics, carvings and other cultural treasures in the Neutrogena Collection provide the allure.  The museum’s historic and contemporary Latino and Hispano folk art collections, spanning the Spanish Colonial period to modern-day New Mexico, reflect how artists respond to their time and place in ways both delightful and sobering. In 2010, the museum opened the Mark Naylor and Dale Gunn Gallery of Conscience, where exhibitions encourage visitors to exchange ideas on complex issues of human rights and social justice.

A division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. 706 Camino Lejo, on Museum Hill in Santa Fe, NM 87505. (505) 476-1200.

Hours: 10 am to 5 pm daily, May through October; closed Mondays November through April, closed Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.

Free Admission Days

  • FIRST Sunday OF THE MONTH IS free for New Mexico residents with ID.
  • Wednesdays are free for New Mexico resident seniors (60 & up) with ID.
  • Children 16 and under and Museum of New Mexico Foundation Members are always admitted free

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Lunar New Year Celebration
Performance Featured Event Family Demonstration

Lunar New Year Celebration

February 10, 2019
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Come and celebrate Asian New Year traditions with the whole family at the Museum of International Folk’s Annual Lunar New Year Celebration! Fun for all ages. Free Admission

  • Lion Dance performance and parade at 1:30 and 3:30
  • Mochi Tsuki Rice Cake Pounding presentation by Santa Fe JIN
  • Hands on art making: paper lanterns and paper drums

The Lunar New Year 2019 celebrates the Year of the Earth Pig (also refered to as the Boar in Japanese and Tibetan traditions). In Korean traditions it is the year of the Goat and Sheep. Come and celebrate Asian New Year traditions with the whole family at the Museum of International Folk’s Annual Lunar New Year Celebration!

Lion Dance preformance by the Quang Minh Buddhist Temple Youth Group of Albuquerque. They are non-profit lion dance troupe. "All funds raised by the youth group areused to further the teachings of Buddhism and Vietnamese language and culture to the community. Quang Minh Buddhist Youth Group was founded in 1996, and is still going 15 years strong. Our lion dance troupe has been the finest and oldest team around for over a decade. Join us for one of our energy filled performances, and experience the history and tradition! We perform year around. Bringing good luck and fortune to any event."

Santa Fe JIN joins us in their second year with their wildly popular Mochi Tsuki Rice Cake Pounding presentation. See how traditional moche is made!  "The purpose of Santa Fe JIN is to introduce the unique culture of Japan and to provide opportunities for those who wish to participate in the cultural diversity of Santa Fe. Our activities focus on creating a platform for multicultural communications in Northern New Mexico. We aim to promote understanding of Japanese traditions and practices through hosting fun and educational programs, the most prominent being that of the Japanese Cultural Festival (Matsuri). We also encourage cultural exchanges to expand the relationship between Santa Fe and Japan for further mutual understanding."

Join us as we celebrate the Year of the Pig. Those born in the year of the Pig are considered: diligent, compassionate, and generous. They have great concentration: once they set a goal, they will devote all their energy to achieving it. Though Pigs rarely seek help from others, they will not refuse to give others a hand.

About the Museum of International Folk Art: http://www.internationalfolkart.org/

Founded in 1953 by Florence Dibell Bartlett, the Museum of International Folk Art’s mission is to foster understanding of the traditional arts to illuminate human creativity and shape a humane world. The museum holds the world’s largest international folk art collection of more than 150,000 objects from six continents and over 150 nations, representing a broad range of global artists whose artistic expressions make Santa Fe an international crossroads of culture. For many visitors, fascination with folk art begins upon seeing the whimsical toys and traditional objects within the Girard Collection. For others, the international textiles, ceramics, carvings and other cultural treasures in the Neutrogena Collection provide the allure.  The museum’s historic and contemporary Latino and Hispano folk art collections, spanning the Spanish Colonial period to modern-day New Mexico, reflect how artists respond to their time and place in ways both delightful and sobering. In 2010, the museum opened the Mark Naylor and Dale Gunn Gallery of Conscience, where exhibitions encourage visitors to exchange ideas on complex issues of human rights and social justice. A division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. 706 Camino Lejo, on Museum Hill in Santa Fe, NM 87505. (505) 476-1200. Hours: 10 am to 5 pm daily, May through October; closed Mondays November through April, closed Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Events, news releases and images about activities at the Museum of International Folk Art and other divisions

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