Is the Feria the Same Every Year?

Manuel Alberto de la Peña, cut-paper artist, new to Feria 2018

by Marianne Carlson, Founder, Feria Maestros del Arte

The short answer is — NO!

The Feria has never been the same two years in a row. Since we’ve heard this comment a few times, I would like to clarify our process.

At least half of the total artisans invited each year are BRAND NEW.  Mexico’s many artisans work in textiles, clay, metal, paper, natural fibers, stone/rock, wood, and many more art mediums. Our primary aim is to have the best artisans in each of these areas, however, it's important to understand that part of the Feria's mission is to help artisans create better lives for their families and villages.

The Feria plan is to invite each newly chosen artisan to show for two years. For some artists, this may be their first experience with a major exhibit of this type. It’s a learning experience for them: how much work to bring? What types of pieces will most appeal to customers? How to price their work? How to pack everything for safe transport? Returning a second year gives them a chance to be more prepared and more successful.

Part of our job is to help them learn how to go beyond the creation of the work and make it a business that supports their families. Sometimes, an artist is not invited to return for the second year, or can’t return because of life changes. And, sometimes, popular artists become so successful they no longer depend as much on the Feria and we make room for other artisans.

César Alfredo Lucano Siordia, new in 2018

The Feria has become a premier exhibition for both artisans and customers. Therefore, the number of applications we receive every year is growing. Our Artist Selection Committee wades through hundreds of new applications each year looking for exceptional work. Over the years we have featured most of the maestros recognized by museums and contests. We favor work that uses traditional methods and materials and has been passed down through generations of artisans. 

The committee members are always on “artist-hunting” trips throughout Mexico and look at approximately 250-300 artisans every year in order to put together a good mix of art forms which are popular and represent the rich tradition of folk art in Mexico. Some of our maestros might be well-known or even famous, but they live and work in remote villages where buyers and collectors seldom see their work. We also search for artists who have taken a particular art form to a new level with their inventive and creative talents. 

Antonia Peralta, palm baskets, new in 2018

Another part of the Feria mission is to help ensure survival of Mexican folk art. As cheap imports using mass production techniques as well as plastics and industrial materials begin to imitate the work of fine artisans, it becomes more difficult for families to support themselves with their fine craft work.

While assembly-line pottery can often look beautiful, it means that the true artisan potters will no longer be able to dig their own clay from the earth, pulverizing and processing it by hand before forming, painting, and firing it into the kitchen ware, pineapple pots, trees of life, jaguars, chickens and other art forms that so enchant us.

Felipe Benítez Miranda, painted wood, new in 2018

In traditional crafts, artisans may use brushes chewed from the midrib of a yucca leaf or from the hair of their children. On the coast of Oaxaca, a handful of men still catch and milk snails by hand to gather the ink that turns into an exquisite purple on huipils that are woven by hand on looms, also made by hands. Insects are gathered from yucca plants and turned into a brilliant indigo while other plants are gathered to create a rainbow of natural colors. These hand processes create works of art that cannot be duplicated.

When people buy paintings or crafts mass-produced in other countries, Mexican folk art and the artisan families who make it suffer.  Many of Mexico’s various forms of folk art, such as rebozos, are already in danger of extinction. Many of the world’s cultures have already lost most of their indigenous art due to the same hardships that face Mexican artists today. In Mexico, we already see more and more artists abandoning their work, their families, and their villages to take jobs in cities where they are assured of a guaranteed income.

This is where the Feria comes in. This is where YOU, the aficionadas and buyers, come in.

If the Feria didn’t offer you new artisans yearly, we know you might not return. If we didn’t put together a good mix of art forms, you might not return. So, we’ve always worked diligently every year to put together the best gathering of artisans we can.

Together, we can help Mexican folk art survive.

Florencia Hernández Rios, new in 2018

This sign found in a local restaurant tells the story 

in just a few words:

  When you buy something

made by hand

You are buying much more than an object.

You are buying hours of 

experiments and failures.

You are buying days, weeks, 

and months of work.

You are buying a piece of heart, a moment 

of the life of another person.