The Road to Indian Market 2010: Setting the Standard with SWAIA's Carole Sandoval

"The Road to Indian Market 2010" has highlighted the artists and the dealers, but what about all the work that the folks at SWAIA put into the SWAIA Indian Market every year?  The road to Market is very long for them, and they begin taking steps for the next year's Market just as the current one is ending.  It takes a lot of hours, brainstorming and coordinating to make the world's largest Indian market go off without a hitch.

Someone who knows a great deal about ensuring that things move smoothly is Ohkay Owingeh artist Carole Sandoval, who focuses most of her time on her positions as Vice Chair of SWAIA and Chairperson of the SWAIA Indian Market Standards Committee.   As Chair of the Standards Committee, Sandoval helps to form the criteria by which all artists who submit their work to be considered to sell at Market are judged.  They also dictate how pieces submitted for ribbons are evaluated.  It's a painstaking process for all involved.    Objectivity in the judging process is also key in making sure that winners are fairly awarded.  That's why all judging is blind.  For artists, such as Sandoval, who have to balance an art career and their jobs with SWAIA, the road to Indian Market is more complicated and requires incredible discipline.

In my interview with Carole Sandoval, she addresses every aspect of the standards and judging process and talks candidly about some of the pleasures and pitfalls of the job, as well as how honored she is that her aunt, Geronima Cruz Montoya was selected as the poster artist for this year's SWAIA Indian Market.  Watch her interview HERE:

(Note: This series is in no way affiliated with SWAIA or SWAIA Indian Market. The term Indian Market is used with permission and the 2010 SWAIA poster is copyrighted by SWAIA.)