Page 57 - CA 2019 Final(3)

The Abbe tells the toy

f Maine’s native pat while manifeting a progressive vision

f the mueum’s future

feature by Kate Shaffer, phot s courtesy of the Abbe Museum

The second annual Abbe Museum Indian Market will take place May 17-19 on Bar Harbor’s Village Green. The first market of its
size and type in the Northeast, the inaugural Market last summer hosted 60 artists from 40 tribes, and drew more than 5,000 visitors.
The Market far exceeded the Museum’s expectations, so this year they are building on its success with the deliberate, innovative stra-
tegy the Abbe is known for.
“The Indian Market was developed with and for Wabanaki artists,” said the museum’s Director of Advancement Stefanie Muscat.
“After having to travel all over to participate in this kind of experience, they know they have a home market.”

According to Stefanie, the first Market took three years to produce and was modeled after the long-running Indian Market in Santa
Fe, New Mexico. The artists, who came from tribes all over the country, said that, not only did they sell more of their work at the
Abbe Museum Indian Market (AMIM) than at other markets, but that they felt warmly welcomed by the community.

“Residents and visitors to the Northeast are clearly hungry for this type of experience,” said Stefanie. During the inaugural Indian
Market weekend, Bar Harbor businesses noted a half million in revenue, and the Museum’s own gift shop showed a 795 percent increase
in sales.

Rather than rest on the laurels of last year’s Birchbark hat by Gina Brooks, Maliseet, at a 2018 Abbe Museum
success, the Abbe is increasing the Market’s event Indian Market booth. Photo by H.B.Mertz
schedule for 2019, adding a four-day Indigenous
Film Festival, which will feature films by and about
indigenous peoples. Last year’s most popular event,
the Indian Market Fashion Show, will be held at the
Criterion Theatre this year, allowing for VIP seating
and exclusive artist interaction. The Market itself
will take place on Saturday and Sunday on the Vil-
lage Green, with live performances in the Gazebo.

The Museum’s Indian Market, while a fun
and profitable event that has a positive economic
impact on Bar Harbor during a relatively quiet
shoulder month, is also an extension of the Abbe’s
progressive philosophy regarding the evolving
role of Native history museums.

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