Museum Visits are Inspiring When Traveling
The Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico had something for everyone to enjoy
We just came from the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is a museum we did not visit on our last trip here in 2020. Lured by exhibits on crafters and their crafts, of which both my husband and I consider ourselves, it was a place we both wanted to go.
Inside the museum, we found a massive collection of folk art assembled by one couple, Alexander Girard and his wife, Susan. They donated over 100,000 pieces to the museum where over 10,000 are currently on display.
There are amulets, toys, weavings, paintings, fertility statues, holiday decorations, calendars, headdresses, scarves, robes, hats, dolls, and more. Some displays included entire villages or scenes like festivals, carnivals, or even grocery store interiors.
The other wings of the museum included an exhibit on paper and paste, Mexican Folk Art that spanned a calendar year based on the religious holidays celebrated in Mexico during different seasons.
Here we saw Day of the Dead skulls and skeletons, bright pinatas, and masks made with layers of paper, paste, and paint. It was a colorful and informative exhibit.
