W. K. Kellogg Intern Program Supports Our Mission to Create More Markets
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Contact: Clare Hertel
505-670-3090
A one-of-a-kind, immersive internship program funded by a $325,000, three-year grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation is showing four arts professionals from Africa the ins and outs of the operations of the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, in order to help them to better develop folk art markets in their own countries.
The W. K. Kellogg Intern Program allows the four chosen “interns,” who already have extensive experience with directing regional arts programs and markets, to closely study the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, the largest market of its kind in the world. During their three-year-long internship, the four arts professionals, all women, will be studying virtually every aspect of the Market’s operations, from budgeting and fundraising to site planning, public relations, marketing, and the artist selection process.
The W. K. Kellogg Intern Program prepares the interns to better enrich their existing, local arts markets and to consider ambitious new ones. As a result of their time spent together, the W. K. Kellogg Interns have been discussing the possibility of mounting a collaborative market – a regional market for all of Southern Africa in 2010. “These talented interns are going to lead the way in Southern Africa and create a market that empowers artists, helps them access a global market, and provides training to these micro-entrepreneurs,” say Market executive director Charlene Cerny. “We think this is a model than can alleviate poverty while sustaining local communities and traditions, and we hope this is just the first of several such efforts.”
The potentially global economic and cultural ripples from their ventures is what would make a story about the W. K. Kellogg Interns so powerful. The women already have had an impact on the lives of folk artists in their home regions. But with the knowledge they are gaining through their association with the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, they’re being prepared for a bigger role, for a chance to affect far more artists’ lives and to better the economies of far wider communities. In that way, the W. K. Kellogg Intern Program is at “the heart of our own mission at the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, which is the economic and cultural sustainability of folk artists worldwide,” says Internship Director Ahdina Zunkel.
The four arts professionals chosen for the first W. K. Kellogg Intern Program are:
• Mahaliah Kowa, Project Coordinator of the Harambe Afrika! festival in Johannesburg, South Africa
• Chila Smith Lino, Marketing Director of the non-profit Feira Nacional de Artesanato, promoting the crafts and cultural heritage of Mozambique
• Nomvula Mashoai-Cook, Chairperson for the ATKA Traditional Arts Festival in SouthAfrica, to be launched in 2009
• Jane Parsons, Crafts Consultant for the Harare International Festival of the Arts in Zimbabwe
The four women will be back in Santa Fe for the 5th Annual Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, for two months. They are also available for interviews now. Theirs would be an unusual, inspirational business story that no one would soon forget.