During a recent trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico, I arranged a visit with jeweler Jerome Nakagawa at his studio. Jerome and his partner Janelle were incredibly gracious for allowing me to drop in on their Sunday and spend some time with them. I was given a tour of the studio and his jewelry-making equipment, and then Jerome and I sat down for a long conversation about his life, career and work. Our coverage on Jerome, his jewelry and his appearance at this year’s Santa Fe Indian Market begins on Page 110. We don’t always get to do face-to-face interviews with artists, but it remains the absolute best way to do it.
I spent an hour with an artist and learned a treasure trove of information about him, his work, his worldview, where he comes from, about his family, his art journey, his interests, past careers and motifs within his work. And we probably just scratched the surface, with much more fascinating material that we simply didn’t have time to delve into.
That was just one single artist sharing an immeasurable amount of history, creativity and knowledge. Now multiply that by 1,000—one for every artist at the 2026 Santa Fe Art Market. It is an unfathomable amount of culture and humanity.
Market is an event where practically an entire segment of the American art market gathers in one place for one weekend a year. It’s a vast community of artists, collectors and fans coming together in celebration of culture, heritage and tradition. It’s 1,000 different stories, histories, interests, styles and ideas intermingling in an area that amounts to less than a square mile in the heart of Santa Fe. And it’s all right there, laid out in neat rows of booths under the warm Southwest sun.
I hope you can go to Santa Fe Indian Market this year. We certainly roll out the red carpet for the market in this issue. We do that because we believe in the power and importance of the event. And we believe in the artists who work long hours in their studios, who toil over dangerous equipment or delicate designs, who pour their hearts and souls into their work so they can share it with the world.
There may be 1,000 artists, but the significance of their contributions to the world are immeasurable.
Michael Clawson
Executive Editor
mclawson@nativeamericanartmagazine.com
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