So for anyone who's never gone to Santa Fe Indian Market, I'll just give you the lowdown on what happens on the Friday beforehand. You have this event around noon-ish where they announce all of the winners for that year. Now, it's mainly for the artists and the press, but we were fortunate enough to have sponsored the grand prize, which is the Best of Show award and as a result we got to attend the ceremony. I asked SWAIA if we could film the event and release it as an episode of my podcast, got the all-clear, and now this episode is the recording of that incredible event.

I mean, it's just like you're in the room. I would recommend watching this on YouTube so you can actually see their faces and the emotion in the room. The speeches which often have segments in the artists' Native languages are so compelling. I think it's so important to see what this world of Santa Fe indian Market means to the artists.

Some of these people have worked for 50 years to get where they are such as the winner of the weaving category Isabel Gonzalez. It's such an amazing thing to see. The same goes for artist Dan Vallo, who won the Best of Show award. To see and hear the emotion, time, effort and energy it takes to do these pieces... it was remarkable.

Again, this podcast is the entire ceremony with all of the different Best of Classification awards. So I hope you take the time to listen (even better - watch on the YouTube) because you'll really get an insight into what it was like for those artists at that moment in time, and often winning these awards is genuinely life changing.

The 2024 Santa Fe Indian Market Best of Show Award Ceremony was an incredible experience and I'm so glad to have sponsored the award for the last two years. We look forward to platforming and celebrating the incredible Native American artists for years to come.

I've known Michael Higgins for 35+ years and he was actually one of the first dealers that I met in Tucson when I moved here. You see, Michael has been actively buying and selling Native American arts since 1972.

Michael got out of the military after serving in Vietnam, and went directly into the buying and selling of Native American art. His area of expertise ranges from the contemporary to historic Native American art, especially beadwork.

It was wonderful to get to actually spend some time talking to Michael. We live in the same town, but life gets in the way. We get busy. We don't get to see each other as much as we'd like to. Regardless, he's a unique individual with a unique approach to Native American material. He's seen a lot, and this podcast is all about his backstory and about the core components of this business.

So it was interesting to hear his stories and about the things that he's done and how he sees his role in the arts. I had a great time. This is Michael Higgins on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 307.

I had Ron Munn on today. Ron's been in the business for 60+ years. He started his first gallery in 1968 and ran a very successful auction for decades. I've known him for over 30 years and he's always been one of the individuals I wanted to have on the podcast, because he has the longevity. He's known all of the players and he's seen the art and the art business over the past 60 years which it gives him a very unique perspective that other people don't have.

He's still active too. He'll be showing in Albuquerque in early August 2024 at the 25th Annual Great Southwestern Antique Show. In fact, it's really fun to hear about the early days of this business because it's so much different than it once was.

I was on the tail end of it. I started 35 years ago and the unfortunate truth is that most of the big time dealers from back then have all passed on. Luckily for us, Ron is able to pass their wisdom and stories on just like this podcast will pass Ron's and even my own stories on to the next generation.

So this is a podcast that offers a unique perspective into the world of Native arts. Native American artwork as seen through the eyes of an early dealer and auctioneer. Ron Munn on episode 306 of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast.