The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts is hosting its annual Gala & Live Auction on Aug. 15, followed by the Native Fashion Show on Aug. 16 in Santa Fe, featuring designers, chefs and artists redefining contemporary Native creativity.
The gala's runway will showcase designs from Patricia Michaels of Taos Pueblo and Jamie Okuma, a Luiseño, Wailaki, Okinawan and Shoshone-Bannock designer known for garments blending ancestral techniques with avant-garde sensibilities.
The Native Fashion Show on Aug. 16 features six designers: Himikalas Pamela Baker (Squamish/Kwakiutl/Tlingit/Haida), Jimmy Dean Horn (Chickasaw), Jontay Kahm (Plains Cree), Devon Tso (Diné), Desmon Pack (Plains Cree) and Stephen Paul Judd (Kiowa/Choctaw). The designers have built their followings through social media rather than traditional fashion industry gatekeepers.
Chef Pyet DeSpain of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, founder of Pyet's Plate and winner of Gordon Ramsay's "Next Level Chef," is curating the gala's culinary experience.
The live auction will feature items including a beaded mini-Birkin by Adrian Stevens (Ute/Shoshone Bannock/San Carlos Apache) and Sean Snyder (Navajo/Ute), and a culinary experience with chef and ceramicist Johnny Ortiz-Concha through the /shed project. Additional artists in the over 50-item silent auction include Isaiah Begay (Navajo), Rebecca Lucario (Acoma Pueblo) and Frederica Antonio (Acoma Pueblo).
The event is sponsored by Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation. SWAIA has produced the Santa Fe Indian Market since its founding, now recognized as the largest and most prestigious Native art market in the world.
Tickets are available for both events.
