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 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.
(Photo by James Kreul)
“So with the artists, it’s a range of different work. It’s a combination of traditional and contemporary artwork, and includes things like beadwork, quillwork, weaving, basket making, leatherwork, and silversmithing,” Mace says. “So there’s a range of different types of artists, and the initiative was, for me, always about directly supporting the artists at community-run art centers, and showing the way that that relationship can continue every year to grow.”
Something really unique about the upcoming Native Art Market at the Arts + Literature Lab is that there are no booth fees for the artists.
“We try to generate as much grant funding ahead of time to support the artists being there for the day. For me growing up, markets were very much a part of my life, with my grandfather always participating in them,” Mace says. “So our arts are central not only to our identity, but also as a way to support ourselves economically. The biggest initiative with this was to make sure that we could always support the artists and there would never be any fees connected to the artist to participate.”
In addition to the all-day market, workshops and other special events will take place at the event and in the weeks after the market.
“The biggest thing about Native people is that we’re all about community. And I think that’s one of the most important things … supporting that,” Mace says. “It’s important that we think about respecting not only the cultural context of the art pieces that many of these artists create, but also think about the ways that these relationships can extend past just the market.
“Many of these artists we try to support in terms of developing workshops or classes or even just artist talks at different times throughout the year,” Mace continues. “I think that’s our biggest goal with this market is to make sure it happens year-round, and not just in November. We do draw the biggest crowds in November [for Native American History Month], but we want to make sure we support Native artists throughout the entirety of the year.”
Along with the Native Art Market, Arts + Literature Laboratory will also host a special performance by Bizhiki on Sunday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. Admission is free.
“So the performance that’s on Sunday is really unique. It’s a group called Bizhiki and they are this really amazing Wisconsin project, a collaboration between a couple of different musicians,” Mace says. “It focuses on thinking about the main artists’ home in northern Wisconsin, and it’s a combination of traditional and non-traditional musical elements. So it’s a really beautiful fusion.’
Mace says that she really looks forward to the Native Art Market every year because “it’s like seeing family again.”
“A lot of these artists I have built relationships with over the last couple of years, and it’s just good to see them, and it’s good to have a good laugh and just be in community with one another and extend my gratitude to the community that’s always supported me for the many years that I’ve lived here in Madison,” Mace says.
“It’s nice just to be able to be present for the Native community, and to have Madison really appreciate that it’s thriving, it’s evolving, and it’s always adapting. There’s such beauty in the way that we see the world through the arts.”
The Arts + Literature Laboratory is located at 111 S. Livingston Street #100.
