Collectors will have twice as many opportunities to discover and purchase their next, or even their first, work of art on February 21 when two great shows—The American Indian Art Show and The San Francisco Tribal & Textile Art Show—come together for the first time in their histories. The two shows, long held a week apart, will both be held the same weekend, February 21 through 23, at the Festival Pavilion at the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture in San Francisco. 
Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture in San Francisco, home of The American Indian Art Show and The San Francisco Tribal & Textile Art Show.
Guests look through tribal masks in a booth during The San Francisco Tribal & Textile Art Show.
“We feel that holding these two significant shows at the same time, rather than a week apart made sense…Many attendees couldn’t stay a full week to see both shows in the Bay Area,” explains Kim Martindale, co-producer of the shows. “We wanted to make that possible, and Fort Mason was able to accommodate both shows under the same roof at the same time. It’s an extraordinary opportunity for serious collectors and first-time attendees to see a huge variety of human expression offered over the course of three days.” 
1800s Pomo basket. Courtesy Todos Santos Trading Post, Alamo, California.
Visitors stroll past booths at a previous San Francisco Tribal & Textile Art Show.
Co-producer John Morris is also excited about the opportunities of a joint show. “There is something for everyone at these shows,” he says. “And seeing the art offered this year is not to be missed.”
Both events will feature historic and contemporary dealer and artist booths, which will be curated by some of the best names in the business. Notable dealers include Blue Rain Gallery, Trotta-Bono, KR Martindale Gallery, Faust Gallery, John C. Hill Antique Indian Art, John Molloy Gallery, Miles and Miles Trading, Todos Santos Trading Post, Turkey Mountains Traders and many others.
VOLZ Katsina, Kipok the Warrior, 1900. Courtesy John C. Hill – Antique Indian Art Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona.
Both shows will also feature special exhibitions that will cater to the diverse array of interests that are associated with each show. At the American Indian Art Show, which was previously held in nearby Marin, the exhibition is Variations on a Loom: The J.B. Moore Collection. The exhibition—curated by Robert and Anne Smith, who have one of the most complete collections of J.B. Moore rugs in the world—will showcase 40 pieces, which will be the first time a Moore collection of this size will be on public view. Born in Texas, Moore established the Crystal Trading Post in Crystal, New Mexico, in 1896. Near the Narbona Pass, the trading post’s location was thought to be one of the most isolated places in the Navajo Nation. In 1903 Moore began publishing a mail-order catalog featuring a collection of hand-woven Navajo rugs that for the first time incorporated Oriental motifs into the traditional Indigenous designs. He included information about the culture and life of the Navajo weaver and acknowledged individual weavers for their designs. He is credited by many for his influence on the design and marketing success of these weavings using the catalogs to reach consumers throughout the United States. Moore published his last catalog in 1911.
Andrea Vargas, Hummingbird #4, pastel on paper, 30 x 22”
At the San Francisco Tribal & Textile Art Show, the special exhibition, titled PHAGLI: A Masking Tradition of Himachal Pradesh, draws from the Tom van Groeningen collection. Presented by Louis Nierijnck, PHAGLI will feature more than 20 rare Himachal Pradesh masks, the majority of which come from Kullu, as well as in bordering districts in Himachal Pradesh, in India in the Western Himalayas. The masks are worn in fertility rituals usually performed by men as part of the arrival of spring celebrations.
Weavings are on display in a booth in San Francisco.
Visitors browse dealer booths at a previous American Indian Art Show.
The shows kick off on February 21 with an early preview from 2 to 8 p.m. The main show will run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on February 22 and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on February 23.
Between the two shows, the weekend will offer one of the largest showcases of antique American Indian, pre-Columbian, Spanish Colonial and contemporary American Indian art on the West Coast. Additionally, the shows will offer a selection of tribal artwork from Africa, Asia, Australia, Oceania and the Americas. —
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