The History of the Northern Plains Indian Art Market
The Northern Plains Indian Art Market (NPIAM) was established in 1988 by American Indian Services, Inc., of Sioux Falls, SD,
as the Northern Plains Tribal Arts Show (NPTA). American Indian Services produced the juried art show and market from 1988 to 2003. Since 2004 Sinte Gleska University of Rosebud has been the producing organization.
Originally conceived as an economic development project–a market place where Native American artists could sell their artwork–the show has become a national staple in showcasing American Indian art of the northern plains. It is rated as one of the Top Ten Indian Art Markets in the country by Native Peoples Magazine.
NPTA/NPIAM has been guided over the years by a volunteer advisory committee comprised of representatives from academia, the arts community, and the interested public. Once numbering over 20 and divided into sub-committees with responsibilities for advertising, volunteers, market organization, juried art show administration and reception, and artist selection, the committee now is made up of 11 people from across the state of South Dakota who have a commitment to the event. The event is staffed by committee members and Sinte Gleska University personnel and is coordinated by a senior staff member of Sinte Gleska University.
To be eligible to enter the NPIAM a Native American artist must be an enrolled member of 1 of 23 tribes the show recognizes as “Northern Plains.” Artists from several plains tribes of Canada are also accepted. So it is truly a international gathering of Native American artists–those who work in contemporary fine arts and those who create art using traditional materials, methods and styles. Depending on their medium, artists are accepted in 17 divisions of fine and traditional art forms.
Since the beginning, the juried art show has drawn entries to compete for the prestigious Best of Show, Best of Fine Arts and Best of Tribal Arts awards. Jurors are selected from a national pool of American Indian art experts, scholars, and respected working artists. Among those have been Dr. Richard West, Jr., (Southern Cheyenne), the first director of the National Museum of the American Indian and Bruce Bernstein, director of the Santa Fe Indian Market.
In the 25 years of its existence–one of the longest running Indian art shows in the country–over 800 artists from 7 northern plains states and two Canadian provinces have exhibited at NPTA/NPIAM. We cannot guess how many people have attended the juried art show winners reception and visited the market over two days at the end of September each year. Writers for national publications, filmmakers, and researchers have all joined the audiences over the years. One can only surmise that it is in the thousands since 1988.
NPIAM has weathered trying times since its inception in 1988. The number of participating artists has ebbed and flowed from over 100 to 50, entries in certain divisions have been so many that the jurors have had to spend most of their allotted judging time on one or two divisions, and there have been years when there were no entries in certain divisions. There were times of doubt as to whether or not the show would continue. The shows have been numbered consecutively since 1997 when the future of the show was in peril. Hence, we started counting from 1988 as opposed to the first anniversary in 1989. That move labeled the 1997 show as the 10th, and we celebrated that milestone not knowing if there would be a 1998 show. Again, in 2003 when American Indian Services decided that they could no longer produce the show, Sinte Gleska University stepped in and assumed the production of the event at the behest of the artists and some concerned citizens of Sioux Falls. The name was changed to reflect a new beginning and revitalization. Northern Plains Indian Art Market continues under the auspices of Sinte Gleska now and into the foreseeable future.
For more information call Jack Herman at (605) 856-8100 Ext. 8476
www.npiam.org
www.sintegleska.edu
The Northern Plains Indian Art Market (NPIAM) was established in 1988 by American Indian Services, Inc., of Sioux Falls, SD,
as the Northern Plains Tribal Arts Show (NPTA). American Indian Services produced the juried art show and market from 1988 to 2003. Since 2004 Sinte Gleska University of Rosebud has been the producing organization.
Originally conceived as an economic development project–a market place where Native American artists could sell their artwork–the show has become a national staple in showcasing American Indian art of the northern plains. It is rated as one of the Top Ten Indian Art Markets in the country by Native Peoples Magazine.
NPTA/NPIAM has been guided over the years by a volunteer advisory committee comprised of representatives from academia, the arts community, and the interested public. Once numbering over 20 and divided into sub-committees with responsibilities for advertising, volunteers, market organization, juried art show administration and reception, and artist selection, the committee now is made up of 11 people from across the state of South Dakota who have a commitment to the event. The event is staffed by committee members and Sinte Gleska University personnel and is coordinated by a senior staff member of Sinte Gleska University.
To be eligible to enter the NPIAM a Native American artist must be an enrolled member of 1 of 23 tribes the show recognizes as “Northern Plains.” Artists from several plains tribes of Canada are also accepted. So it is truly a international gathering of Native American artists–those who work in contemporary fine arts and those who create art using traditional materials, methods and styles. Depending on their medium, artists are accepted in 17 divisions of fine and traditional art forms.
Since the beginning, the juried art show has drawn entries to compete for the prestigious Best of Show, Best of Fine Arts and Best of Tribal Arts awards. Jurors are selected from a national pool of American Indian art experts, scholars, and respected working artists. Among those have been Dr. Richard West, Jr., (Southern Cheyenne), the first director of the National Museum of the American Indian and Bruce Bernstein, director of the Santa Fe Indian Market.
In the 25 years of its existence–one of the longest running Indian art shows in the country–over 800 artists from 7 northern plains states and two Canadian provinces have exhibited at NPTA/NPIAM. We cannot guess how many people have attended the juried art show winners reception and visited the market over two days at the end of September each year. Writers for national publications, filmmakers, and researchers have all joined the audiences over the years. One can only surmise that it is in the thousands since 1988.
NPIAM has weathered trying times since its inception in 1988. The number of participating artists has ebbed and flowed from over 100 to 50, entries in certain divisions have been so many that the jurors have had to spend most of their allotted judging time on one or two divisions, and there have been years when there were no entries in certain divisions. There were times of doubt as to whether or not the show would continue. The shows have been numbered consecutively since 1997 when the future of the show was in peril. Hence, we started counting from 1988 as opposed to the first anniversary in 1989. That move labeled the 1997 show as the 10th, and we celebrated that milestone not knowing if there would be a 1998 show. Again, in 2003 when American Indian Services decided that they could no longer produce the show, Sinte Gleska University stepped in and assumed the production of the event at the behest of the artists and some concerned citizens of Sioux Falls. The name was changed to reflect a new beginning and revitalization. Northern Plains Indian Art Market continues under the auspices of Sinte Gleska now and into the foreseeable future.
For more information call Jack Herman at (605) 856-8100 Ext. 8476
www.npiam.org
www.sintegleska.edu
