FOFA’S PROJECTS IN THE TIME OF COVID-19: 2020-2021
At this time of Thanksgiving, we’d like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of you who’ve continued supporting us over the past year, which has been one of the most challenging since FOFA was founded. 

To meet the enormous hardships posed by the pandemic to the livelihoods and productivity of Oaxaca’s folk artists, FOFA has reinvented its programs, temporarily postponing many longstanding plans. As always, fundamental to our mission – preservation and promotion of the region’s inspiring artistic traditions -- is a focus upon the stewards of these traditions: Oaxaca’s talented young artists. We come to know them and their families in the juried competitions FOFA sponsors, which we follow up with valuable educational programs designed to enhance their artistic futures.
Rebeca Rubí Martínez Sosa (rebozo weaver of Teotitlán del Valle) and her family

Replacing our traditional programs, since spring 2020 FOFA has worked tirelessly to imagine and pilot new channels to assist artesanos in marketing and communicating with potential clients. Here are some of the highlights:

LAUNCH OF DIGITAL CATALOG OF
COVID-THEMED FOLK ART BY 138 ARTISTS

FOFA’s online Instagram exhibition of COVID-19 themed pieces -- accompanied by portraits and artists’ written descriptions of their pieces and their experience of the pandemic -- is now memorialized in a 173-page catalog, “Oaxacan Folk Artists in the Time of COVID-19,” supported in part by Los Amigos del Arte Popular. The catalog is available exclusively on FOFA’s website.
Two Images from the Catalog
“Hope” by Fran García Vásquez (Ocotlán de Morelos)
“The New Life of the Folk Artist” by Alejandro Jiménez Carrillo
We’re pleased to report that this exhibition, and others that we’ve subsequently run on social media, have led to many sales by the artists, and we expect the digital catalog to expand this trend. Unlike our previous print catalogs, the digital features of this volume permit the viewer to navigate it in multiple ways (from thumb nail images of all pieces and/or the Table of Contents to individual artist pages) and easily to contact artists directly by clicking from their pages.



INTENSIVE COURSES FOR ARTESANOS ON SELLING FOLK ART REMOTELY

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, FOFA has taken the unprecedented step of offering groups of artesanos a remotely taught course in how to sell and market their artworks online. The first session for a group of 24 artesanos ran from mid-July through mid-September, and the second session for 25 artesanos launched in early October and will continue through mid-December. A third group will begin in January, 2021. Two marketing experts, one who focuses on branding, customer service and social media, and the other on merchandising, packaging and shipping, serve as instructors who offer a combination of group classes and individual tutorials.
Monserrat Raymundo Sánchez (San Antonino Castillo Velasco) speaks about her experience of the course in remote sales offered by FOFA
Screen shot of participants in a class taught remotely
Leonardo Martínez Mendoza (Teotitlán del Valle) learned to take effective photos of his full pedal loom woolen rug and a detail of the piece
Artistic autobiographies with photos prepared by woodcarver Roque Jiménez (San Antonio Arrazola) and back strap loom weaver Angélica López Antonio (Santo Tomás Jalieza) to accompany shipped pieces and for use in advertising their work on social media.
How to protect a fragile piece of folk art by Monserrat Raymundo Sánchez (San
Antonino Castillo Velasco) and make opening the package a treat for the purchaser


CREATION OF AN ESSENTIAL RESOURCE FOR ARTESANOS ON FOFA’S WEBSITE: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO SELLING FOLK ART REMOTELY
For artesanos who cannot attend the classes, as well as for artesanos in Oaxaca’s folk art community who have not participated in our programs, FOFA has created a free online guidebook that follows the course curriculum. Its 13 sections contain a plethora of resources and instructions https://www.fofa.us/programs#guia in how to promote one’s work and sell it remotely – crucial information during this time when collectors are not able to travel to Oaxaca. Some examples include: effectively photographing pieces and creating catalogs, establishing a social media presence, customer service, safely and attractively packaging artwork, and shipping options and issues.


We know this is a tough time for everyone. Please contribute whatever you can to help us continue our work to support Oaxaca’s folk artists.
Please consider supporting FOFA's ongoing efforts to enable talented young Oaxacan folk artists to achieve their dreams and maintain sustainable livelihoods.

For a comprehensive look at FOFA's programs, visit our website at: www.fofa.us
Thank you!

www.fofa.us 718-859-1515 info@fofa.us
275 Central Park West, #1-C New York, New York 10024