Last December 13, the Performing Arts and Fitness Center on Avan Nu Po Road held the entire Institute of American Indian Arts Holiday Art Market. That meant 125 artists from more than 50 Indigenous Nations and communities, and more than 2,000 shoppers. The tables held beadwork, pottery, glasswork, bronze, ribbon shirts and skirts, and quilts. An Indigenous fashion show ran in the Black Box Theatre.
On Saturday, December 12, 2026, the market will take over a second building. The Santa Fe Community College announcement released October 23 puts the IAIA market in both the Performing Arts and Fitness Center and the Library and Technology Center, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. At the same hours, SFCC's Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair fills the Main Hallway and Campus Center at 6401 Richards Avenue. That makes one December Saturday in the Community College District, just south of Rancho Viejo, a holiday market spread over three buildings on two campuses.
The Growth That Outran One Building
The expansion makes sense when you compare the last few Decembers. Both colleges have scheduled their markets on the same day since at least 2023. Each year IAIA's market has drawn more artists and more shoppers.
| Year | Market date | IAIA artists | IAIA shoppers | IAIA buildings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Saturday, December 9 | More than 100 across both campuses combined | Basis for the next year's estimate of about 1,800 | Performing Arts and Fitness Center |
| 2024 | Saturday, December 14 | About 110 expected | About 1,800 estimated | Performing Arts and Fitness Center |
| 2025 | Saturday, December 13 | 125 | More than 2,000 | Performing Arts and Fitness Center |
| 2026 | Saturday, December 12 | Booths fully reserved by mid-October | To be seen | Performing Arts and Fitness Center and Library and Technology Center |
The 2024 figures come from the Santa Fe New Mexican's Pasatiempo. IAIA held that market on Saturday, December 14, 2024. In its preview of the December 14 market, the paper reported about 110 artists representing roughly 50 Indigenous groups, with about 1,800 visitors expected based on the year before. A year later, IAIA's own count beat both figures. As recently as SFCC's 2025 announcement, the market was listed in a single building, the Performing Arts and Fitness Center.
The Booths Filled Before the Announcement Went Out
On IAIA's 2026 market page, every booth is already reserved, and new applicants can only join a waitlist. That page was posted October 13, ten days before the joint announcement with SFCC.
The booth terms show who the market is built around. A table costs $25 for students, $75 for faculty, staff and alumni, and $100 for other artists. Every piece must be original, handmade work by the artist who applied. Prepackaged, labeled baked goods are allowed, and nothing is cooked on site. Each booth gets one 6-foot table and two chairs, with no electricity, and booths are assigned first come, first served.
The $25 student rate fits how the college describes the market's purpose. After the 2025 market, Jason S. Ordaz, IAIA's Chief Communications Officer and chair of the Holiday Art Market Committee, described it in IAIA's recap of the day:
"Just as important, the market is a hands-on workforce development moment for our students—an opportunity to learn how to present their work, connect with buyers, price and sell with confidence, and build the relationships that sustain a creative business."
The same recap says students from IAIA's new Computer Science for Arts and Technology department sold art based on their code projects in 2025. For 2026, the official list of what's for sale includes handcrafted beadwork, pottery, glasswork, bronze, wood carvings, jewelry, prints, paintings, textiles, ribbon shirts and skirts, quilts and stickers. Artists will represent more than 50 Indigenous nations and groups. Concessions will serve breakfast, lunch and snacks.
The fashion show was a feature of both of the last two markets. At the December 14, 2024 market, five designers showed collections from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Performing Arts and Fitness Center Blackbox. In 2025, the show featured designs by Jennifer Benally, a 2023 IAIA graduate who also managed the show. The 2026 announcements haven't yet listed a show.
Down Richards Avenue, a Different Kind of Table
IAIA's market centers on one college community. SFCC's fair draws makers from all over the state. More than 100 artists and craftspeople from Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Taos and various pueblos fill SFCC's Main Hallway and Campus Center. Admission and parking are free.
SFCC's 2026 list of goods leans toward handmade holiday items. It includes tinwork, holiday ornaments, hand-carved birds and angels, straw appliqué, handmade vintage stockings, wreaths, quilts, wooden bowls and cutting boards, ceramic dishware and mugs, scarves, ponchos, greeting cards and small canvas paintings. Ceci's African Kitchen food truck will sell food. In 2025 the truck was Manko, so the lunch choice changes from year to year.
Last year's two markets together added up to more than 150 artists, according to the Santa Fe Reporter's picks for December 10 to 17, 2025, which described the pairing as a continuing collaboration. IAIA's 2026 page calls SFCC a partner this year. With IAIA adding a building, this year's Saturday is the largest version of the pairing so far.
Fitting Three Buildings Into One Day
Both campuses run the same hours, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., so the main decision is the order. Here are the details that shape the day:
- The distance is short. The colleges describe the two campuses as a six-minute drive or an 11-minute bike ride apart.
- Parking is free at both. Admission is free at both as well.
- IAIA now spans two buildings. Allow time to walk between the Performing Arts and Fitness Center and the Library and Technology Center, since each holds part of the market.
- Food is on both campuses. IAIA's concessions cover breakfast and lunch, and Ceci's African Kitchen is at SFCC.
- The campus galleries are closed that day. Balzer Contemporary Edge Gallery at IAIA is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., during exhibitions. SFCC's Visual Arts Gallery lists weekday hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For anyone coming from the Rail Trail side, Santa Fe County's open space and trails page explains that the Spur Trail branches off the Santa Fe Rail Trail 1.78 miles south of the Rabbit Road Trailhead and runs west to the Community College District.
Questions about either event go to the colleges. For SFCC, call 505-428-1402 or email [email protected]. For IAIA, email [email protected].
Four Weeks of Free Previews on the Same Campuses
Between now and the market, both colleges show and talk about art for free, mostly on weekdays:
- Wednesday, November 4, 9 a.m. to noon. Open studio with IAIA Artists-in-Residence Sunshine Guzman and Arla Lucia Marquez at the Robert Martin Academic Center, 83 Avan Nu Po.
- Thursday, November 5, 5:30 to 7 p.m. Opening reception for the 2026 Fall Graduating Senior Exhibition, Interwoven—Connections and Voices of IAIA, at Balzer Contemporary Edge Gallery. The show is on view November 13 through December 3, so it closes nine days before the market.
- Friday, November 6, 5 to 7 p.m. Reception for SFCC's Fifth Annual High School and Middle School Regional Art Show at the Fine Arts Center, 6401 Richards Avenue. The exhibition is listed through December 6.
- Wednesday, November 18, noon to 1 p.m. Welcome lunch and artist talk with IAIA Artist-in-Residence Delia Touché in the CLE Commons, with lunch served.
- Wednesday, December 2, 9 a.m. to noon. Open studio with Delia Touché at the Robert Martin Academic Center.
IAIA has been a college since 1962 and serves about 500 students from nearly 100 federally recognized Tribes. SFCC has served the community for more than 40 years. On December 12, the open studios and the student and senior shows give way to a sale on both campuses, with IAIA spread across two buildings for the first time.
If you're planning December 12 around these two campuses, Paige Cochran and Kareem Abu-Zeid are always glad to talk about Rancho Viejo and the Community College District, including what living this close to two art campuses is like through the year.
