Creative Nations Indigenous Arts Market & Festival

(Boulder, CO – September  19, 2022) – The Dairy Arts Center is set to host the 2nd annual Creative Nations Indigenous Arts Market and Festival during Indigenous Peoples’ Day weekend October 6-10, 2022. Artists and community members celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ day weekend by viewing creations from Artisans representing various indigenous communities across the United States. Creative Nations Indigenous Arts Market will feature artists’ booths,  traditional social dance performances, live music, an Indigenous fashion show, an Indigenous short film festival, a new play staged reading, and a memorial event “Re-membering 1864…From Fort Chambers to Sand Creek.”

The Arts Market, dance performances, fashion show, new play reading, and the memorial event are all free and open to the public. Delicious indigenous cuisine will be available for purchase and enjoyment from “Little Sizzle.” The Film Festival (Sundance Film Institute’s Indigenous Short Films Tour) and Earth Surface People’s concert are ticketed events and can be purchased at www.thedairy.org, in person at the Dairy Box Office, or at the door on the day of the event. 

Creative Nations’ co-founder, JayCee Beyale (Navajo/Dine), said he is really proud to bring the Indigenous Arts Market back to the Dairy Arts Center after the success of last year’s inaugural event. Creative Nations has been doing its part to produce programming that provides an authentic perspective to allow the greater Boulder community to experience events first-hand when it comes to Indigenous visual arts, performing arts, dance, and music.

Beyale said, “We anticipate 10-20 different Native communities from across the country to be represented in Boulder for the festival weekend. We will also be welcoming three different dance groups representing the  Pueblo of Jemez in New Mexico, Apache Crown Dancers from McNary, Arizona, and Hopi Dancers from Second Mesa in Hopi, Arizona.”

In addition to the dance performances, attendees are invited to a Native Fashion Show curated by Creative Nations co-founder Kelly Holmes (Mnicoujou Lakota). The culturally-inspired fashion show will feature Ute artists, who will exhibit the creativity and originality of Indigenous design through their clothing, regalia, and jewelry. “Not only will this be one of the first opportunities for talented Ute artists to display their work in a runway show to a broader audience, but this also gives them a platform to reclaim the very space they were forced out,” Kelly explains. “The fashion show will focus on the expression of culture and creativity of the Ute people which exudes resiliency and I’m honored and proud to be working with my Ute friends on this beautiful showcase.”

Festival organizers are excited to grow the programming this year, with the addition of a staged reading of a new play and a public memorial and reflection co-produced by The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, The Remembrance Planning Circle Boulder, and Culture In Place. These events will be in addition to the Native Artisans Market, dance performances, film festival, fashion show, and evening concert, which were received well last year.

Creative Nations Managing Director Marty Strenczewilk (Ojibwe) said, “As we continue to grow as an arts organization, we are always looking to broaden the art forms and people we include in our events. This year’s memorial is a great example of incorporating new partners to bring their annual memorial into our event, putting a more serious note to end the weekend of celebration. The theatre is a genre that we haven’t previously produced at Creative Nations and we’re excited to expand into the art form through our first play reading.”

This year’s schedule of events:
Thursday, Oct 6, 2022

• 4:30 PM – 2022 SUNDANCE INSTITUTE INDIGENOUS SHORT FILM TOUR
  

Friday, Oct 7, 2022

• 6:30 PM – 2022 SUNDANCE INSTITUTE INDIGENOUS SHORT FILM TOUR
• 7:00 PM – INDIGENOUS FASHION SHOW
  

Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022

• 9 AM-5 PM – INDIGENOUS FINE ARTS MARKET
• 10 AM – 6 PM – INDIGENOUS EATS BY LITTLE SIZZLE
• 11 AM – DANCE PERFORMANCE
• 2 PM – DANCE PERFORMANCE
• 3:30 PM – 2022 SUNDANCE INSTITUTE INDIGENOUS SHORT FILM TOUR
• 7:00 PM – LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCE: EARTH SURFACE PEOPLE
  

Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022

• 9 AM-5 PM – INDIGENOUS FINE ARTS MARKET
• 10 AM – 6 PM – INDIGENOUS EATS BY LITTLE SIZZLE
• 11 AM – DANCE PERFORMANCE
• 2 PM – DANCE PERFORMANCE
• 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM – MEMORIAL EVENT “RE-MEMBERING 1864…FROM FORT CHAMBERS TO SAND CREEK, THE TIME IS NOW
• 4:30 PM – 2022 SUNDANCE INSTITUTE INDIGENOUS SHORT FILM TOUR
  

Monday, Oct. 10, 2022 – INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S DAY

• NEW PLAY STAGED READING “MASTER PLAN” BY MARTY STRENCZEWILK

For more information, please contact Creative Nations Managing Director Marty Strenczewilk, or visit https://thedairy.org/indigenousartsmrkt/  The Native Arts Market, dance performances, fashion show, public memorial and reflection, and new play reading are all free and open to the public. The Film Festival and Earth Surface People concert are ticketing events and can be purchased online at  https://thedairy.org/indigenousartsmrkt/ in person at the Dairy Box Office, or at the door on the day of the event. 

About Creative Nations
Creative Nations’ Sacred Space is a permanent onsite establishment for Indigenous Artists at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, Colorado. The goals at Creative Nations are to create a space for creation and collaboration, as well as foster opportunities for all Indigenous artists to thrive. All donations given to Creative Nations will be put towards causes, projects, and programming that benefit Native arts.

For more information, visit: https://creativenations.art

About the Dairy Arts Center
The Dairy Arts Center is Boulder’s largest multi-disciplinary arts venue, hosting an array of theatrical performances, concerts, visual art galleries, films, comedy, dance productions, and more within 42,000 square feet of newly-renovated facilities. The building’s transformation from a milk processing facility to an arts hub in 1992 is a nationally recognized example of constructive urban development and renewal. The Dairy houses three ultramodern live performance theaters, several studio art galleries, and an 80-seat art-house cinema. From weekly events like Friday Night Weird to community gatherings, creativity is always being celebrated at the Dairy.  

For more information, visit: https://thedairy.org

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