23-03-2025
World Bank veteran takes over as new IFAM board chair
Folk art is evolving, and the International Folk Art Market has a role to play in shaping public understanding of that evolution, according to IFAM's new board chair.
Helena Ribe said the annual summer market will remain the organization's focus, but she also wants IFAM to help expand the definition of folk art.
For most of its history, Ribe said, folk art has been defined solely by the beauty and quality of the work. But over time, it has assumed a deeper meaning, she said, noting that folk art creators speak for many who have no one else to speak for them.
'It's not just beautiful things on a shelf,' she said, adding that folk art now is a vessel through which an entire way of life or a culture can be conveyed.
Ribe said she would like IFAM to enable the artists with whom it works to find their voices and reach a greater audience on a year-round basis, not just during the market, which is scheduled for July 10-13 this year in Santa Fe's Railyard Park.
She took over as board chair in January after serving on the board for the two previous years and as a volunteer for the market since its inception. Ribe said she loves the event itself.
'The world comes to Santa Fe for four days — it's exhilarating,' she said. 'The artists feel welcome, and they are very grateful for the interest people show in their crafts.'
Ribe, a U.S. citizen who was born in Colombia, has a deep understanding of the richness of many of those cultures. She holds a doctorate from Yale in economics and spent 30 years as an international development economist with the World Bank. It was a career that took her from Asia to Africa to Latin America, allowing her to work with a wide variety of people in their own language and culture, she said.
She had many memorable experiences along the way, she said, but what she remembers most is her travels in rural Guatemala and seeing the fundamental goodness of the people there.
'They suffered so much,' Ribe said. 'You would see the parents coming to school with their kids, many of whom were so malnourished. And, yet, they were so eager to learn. And the parents were so eager to be more involved.'
Ribe said she had an extremely rewarding experience in Zimbabwe, where she worked to help change the way local governments interact with individual communities by giving residents a greater voice in determining which infrastructure projects to build.
Those residents often chose to build water wells, and it was not unusual for the women of a village to take the lead in learning how to maintain them, Ribe said.
'It is an incredibly powerful experience' to see people in such situations take on those kinds of responsibilities, she said.
Ribe said she came to love working with people all over the world and learning to navigate cultural differences. Those experiences have positioned her well for the challenges she faces as the IFAM board chair, she said.
'It's very similar in a way,' she said. 'Connecting people and connecting cultures is something I have always enjoyed doing, especially when you're working with a purpose to provide more economic opportunities for people.'
As the board chair, Ribe said much of her work will focus on 'the perennial challenge of fundraising,' although she noted the market is doing quite well in that respect. IFAM strives to raise half its revenue through the philanthropic community, she said, and the other half through revenue from the annual market.
Ribe said she will work to develop greater sales opportunities for the artists with whom IFAM works while also making inroads with more foundations and potential sponsors.
Ribe said she learned during the coronavirus pandemic, when virtual communication became so important, that it had become much easier to stay in touch with people around the world than it was during her career with the World Bank.
'Even the most remote artists in the most remote village have cellphones,' she said.
Ribe acknowledged she worries about how tariffs imposed by the Trump administration could affect artists and whether their ability to travel to the market will be impacted.
'I see challenges, and I see opportunities,' she said. 'But I also see the opportunity for the market to demonstrate to people the beauty and value of multiple cultures.'
