Every aspect of an international market is affected by a global pandemic, and this is especially true for the world's largest folk art market, the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe. For 16 years, IFAM has successfully connected artists from all over the world to buyers who support their work. Last summer was the first year the market was ever canceled.

Now the team that oversees the market has risen to the challenge with creative ways to keep visitors, volunteers and artists safe in 2021.

“We've made a lot of changes,” says Stuart Ashman, chief executive officer of the International Folk Art Market. “We're doing it in one location on Milner Plaza, only on the upper level. We won't use the lower lot like we have in previous years. And instead of starting on a Friday and running the market for one week, we'll run the market over two weekends, from July 7 to July 18.”

These changes will allow the market to accommodate more artists and buyers safely, without congestion. “By starting on a Wednesday night, with 200 visitors at a time, who will be allowed in with a two-hour timed-entry ticket, we'll have somewhere in the neighborhood of 8,000 visitors over the span of two weekends.”

While the market usually has live music, “this year we'll have piped music with a PA system that will also remind people that their two hours are up,” Ashman says. “But you can buy multiple sessions if you need four hours. I would suggest people buy a two-hour ticket, go to lunch at the Museum Hill Café and then come back for a second session in the afternoon.”

The One-World Dinner and the Community Celebration are canceled for 2021. “We will have a reduced market,” Ashman says, “but there is so much enthusiasm for the return. It's not going to be 21,000 people in 22 hours like it was before, but it's going to be on two weekends with a quarter of the number of booths and a quarter of the number of people.”

Tickets must be purchased ahead of time, says Dr. Diane Friedman, whom IFAM contracted to ensure that the market follows best practices for COVID-19 prevention. Each ticket is good for a two-hour session, and the market will be cleared between sessions. Tickets are available online only, delivered electronically and scanned from guests' phones when they arrive, keeping physical interactions minimal. “We have decreased the number of people, spread them out over eight days instead of two and instituted this timed entry, so there will be far fewer people at any one time.”

Masks will be required for all in attendance: buyers, vendors and volunteers alike. “Things could change, but we're erring on the side of being really cautious. The only exception for masks will be to briefly take a sip of water,” says Friedman. To further incentivize mask compliance, food will not be available at this year's market, and the only drink will be water. The only exception, she says, is an invitation-only dinner on Wednesday, which includes handheld boxed meals with a maximum of four people per table.

Some shoppers may have concerns about mingling with artists traveling from overseas. “We will follow CDC guidelines,” Friedman says. “All artists will have to be tested twice: before international flights and again the first day they arrive as a double-check. In addition, we'll have a screening process each morning for staff, volunteers and artists, checking temperatures and asking about symptoms, much like you do when you go to the dentist these days.”

The fact that the market is open-air inherently adds safety. “The aerosol virus is dispersed when you're outside,” Friedman says. “It's not recirculating like it is indoors. That's why it's so much safer.”

Social distancing is encouraged by design. “All the booths will be separated so there's enough distance,” Ashman says. “For example, a tent that normally can house 40 to 50 artists this year will only have 25 to 30 booths.” The entry point to the market and the exit are separate, further

distancing marketgoers.

Transportation also clearly had to be modified. “Usually we close the street and bus everyone up, but not this year,” Ashman says. “People will park in nearby schools that have parking lots they aren't using, and we'll have a private shuttle service running buses at 50 percent capacity every seven minutes.”

Some changes to the market will likely become permanent, Ashman notes. The Mentor to Market program, which trains new artists to succeed at the market, is now online instead of in person, for example. “It will be in person and virtual in the future as well, because now we've learned how to do that. The program teaches artists how to brand their items, how to photograph them. If the classes are online, you can join whenever you want,” allowing far more flexibility than in-person classes that happen at one set time.

The payment situation is another adjustment that was a long time coming, Ashman says. This year no cash will be accepted — only credit cards and checks.

“You used to have to go to each booth and say, ‘I want to buy this.' Then you would take pieces of paper to a cash register and then return to the booth with a paid receipt, where you would get your items,” he explains. With the new system of placing a credit card machine between every two booths, “You just pick up your item and take it to the payment station right there; each payment station will be specific for those two booths. We've been working in that direction for a long time, so we plan to keep that,” he says.

After such a difficult year, which hit artists from vulnerable communities especially hard, marketgoers may be looking for more ways to support the artists and IFAM. Folk art lovers can do that by buying an IFAM membership, Ashman says. “The membership program this year has the great benefit of offering tickets May 14, one day sooner than general admission. Once we made that known, we got 150 new members. We also have sponsorships for 26 artists who applied for financial aid and were deemed eligible, so they don't have to pay for anything except the 10 percent commission on their sales. Airfare and hotel are covered. We could really use some help [with that program].”

Finally, “We need a lot of volunteers.” Volunteers not only support master folk artists but get early access to ticket sales when they sign up. “People are avid about getting here,” Ashman says. “We have a limited number of tickets. On the Thursday morning of the market there's an extended period we call the Early Bird, from 7:30 to 10 a.m., and this year we're only selling 200 tickets per Thursday to that. Shoppers are going to vie for those. Usually we offer a thousand tickets and they sell out. People are going to be mad at us.”

This long pandemic year has left “a pent-up desire for connection,” says Ashman. “Our market is really about connection with the artists, and memories that this object you've purchased will bring up, as well as the opportunity to have conversations with artists from a country you may never get to. The artists, too, are invested in coming here, and we want them to be successful. We're excited about it.”

Writer Stephanie Nakhleh grew up in New Mexico and has written for many local publications. When she’s not writing, she can be found in the garden or on the trails.