Southwestern Association for Indian Arts loses executive director

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Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Indianz.Com

The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA), the organization that puts on largest Indian art market in the world, has lost its executive director, The Santa Fe New Mexican reports.

Kim Peone, a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, was announced as executive director in April 2020. In August, she helped SWAIA celebrate a milestone event — the 100th Santa Fe Indian Market — as the organization made a greater push to elevate the works of American Indian and Alaska Native artists.

“It’s not just a market. It’s 365 days of art,” Peone said on the opening day of the historic event on August 20.

Kim Peone, then serving as executive director of the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, speaks on the opening day of the 100th Santa Fe Indian Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on August 20, 2022. Crystal Echohawk, chief executive officer of IllumiNative, appears on the left. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

SWAIA has not publicly announced Peone’s departure but The New Mexican said her exit comes as the organization has been asked to come into compliance with the state’s non-profit laws. A spokesperson confirmed to the paper that annual financial reports have not been filed on time.

Peone, who also has heritage from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, was the first Native woman to lead SWAIA as a permanent employee. She was the fifth Native person to lead the organization in its 100-year history. Prior executives were non-Native.

Following the centennial event in August, SWAIA hosted the inaugural Indian Market @ Albuquerque in Albuquerque in early October. The upcoming Winter Market takes place in Santa Fe on December 3-4.