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2nd Abbe Museum Indian Market

Abbe Museum logo

May 17 - 19, 2019
Village Green in Bar Harbor

Maine Public is proud to be a media sponsor of the second Abbe Museum Indian Market, May 18 through 20, on the Village Green in Bar Harbor. The market, which is free and open to the public, features Native American artists and performers from Nations across the U.S. and Canada.

About the Indian Market:

Mount Desert Island calls to many artists. Its cragged shores, woodland trails, and calming lakes inspire creativity and have lured artists to this place for generations. Wabanaki people are part of this artistic tradition, dating back thousands of years on this island. During the Rusticator era (the 1840s to 1920s), the Wabanaki people helped make Bar Harbor and the island so attractive to visitors - making art and selling it to the visitors ensure cultural survival for many art forms.

As Abbe Museum Trustee Gabriel Frey, Passamaquoddy, recently wrote:

"For many Native artists, their artistic expression is a family tradition, a connection to the past, present, and future, interwoven to create functional pieces of art. Family traditions, culture, personal experiences, and hopes for the future live within each piece created. For most, making art provides a source of income, but more importantly, maintains cultural traditions, family connections, and language. Wabanaki artistry is a tool for education, cultural resilience, and decolonization."

The importance of creative placemaking and how it supports Wabanaki artists, as well as the local community, is what led the Abbe Museum to create the Indian Market. In creating this event, they are shining a bright light on Wabanaki artists and deepening the economic impact of art making for tribal communities. Artists will be more likely to work full-time, more people will have the opportunity to make a living through art, remnant art forms will be revitalized, and innovation will have even more room to develop.

baskets on a table

For full details on the Indian Market and the Abbe Museum, including a schedule of events, please visit abbemuseum.org.

Woman examing a basket