(Flagstaff, Ariz.)Hopis are gathering in Flagstaff July 2–4 for Hopi Days, a community-wide event celebrating Hopi artisans.
Hopi Days, in association with the Museum of Northern Arizona’s 71st Annual Hopi Marketplace, features Katsina doll carving, basket weaving, potters, and silversmiths demonstrating techniques at five downtown Flagstaff galleries.
“We want the town jam packed with the best Hopi art,” says Jonathan Day, owner of Jonathan Day Indian Arts and author of Traditional Hopi Kachinas. “It will be great when everyone knows on the Fourth of July weekend, it’s time for Hopi Days.”
Demonstrations begin 6 p.m. on Friday, July 2 at Jonathan Day’s Indian Arts, Painted Desert Trading Company, Puchteca Indian Goods, Thunder Mountain Traders, and Winter Sun Trading Company and continue through the weekend, coinciding with the array of events happening at the Museum.
Hopi Days is intended to solidify and connect Hopi art demonstrations during MNA’s Hopi Marketplace, the oldest Hopi show in the world. “We are not just a resource for the community, we are part of it, and want to be involved with events educating the public about the cultures on the Colorado Plateau,” says Robert G. Bruening, MNA director.
The Museum’s Hopi Marketplace is also the venue to catch up on modern Hopi culture. Besides highlighting more than 50 master and emerging Hopi artists, the marketplace embraces the contemporary sounds of Dawa, a Phoenix-based Hopi rock band that will perform in the courtyard both days. Plus, this year’s featured artist renowned jeweler Sonwai, Verma Newquatewa, will be on hand in the Enduring Creations’ gallery to discuss her family influences and techniques.
Downtown gallery demonstrations feature more than 25 Hopi artists, begin during Flagstaff’s First Friday Art Walk, and continue through the weekend. Hopi Days maps will be available at participating galleries and the Museum. Katsina Doll carvers include Jonah Hill at Winter Sun Trading Company, John Fredricks at Puchteca Indian Goods, Darance Chimerica at Jonathan Day’s Indian Arts, and Delbridge Honanie at MNA.
Carver Jonah Hill says, “These events help us connect and share creativity with other artists, and links carvers with customers looking for authentic work.”
Up until this year, the galleries and the Museum held separate events through the marketplace weekend, but by working together they hope to “convey the positive aspects of Hopi life and art to the greater world,” says Bob Lomadafkie, MNA’s Heritage Program Manager.
Hopi people live on a 1.5 million-acre reservation in villages over 800 years old, on or around the First, Second, and Third Mesas in northeastern Arizona. The word Katsina refers to the spirits who watch over Hopi—bringing rain and fertility and all that is required for life—the dancers who embody these spirits in ceremony, and the carved cottonwood dolls that are part of a tradition linked to teaching Hopi children.
An originator of American Indian marketplaces, MNA’s Heritage Program presents the best of the diverse cultures of the Colorado Plateau in a summer-long celebration of marketplaces. Since 1930, audiences of all ages—families, children, connoisseurs, and collectors—have enjoyed fine Native American and Hispanic arts and performances.
MNA sits at the base of the San Francisco Peaks, on Highway 180 three miles north of downtown and is open daily from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Admission is $5/adult, $4/senior, $3/student, $2/child (7–17), and always free to members. For more information, call 928/774-5213 or visit www.musnaz.org.