SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. — The torch has been passed.

The owners of Objects Of Art Shows, Kim Martindale and John Morris, have announced that they’ve acquired from longtime show promoter Elizabeth Lees, the San Francisco Tribal & Textile Arts Show, an annual art show of fine arts of Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas that takes place in February at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. Elizabeth Lees and Bill Caskey of Caskey-Lees pioneered the groundbreaking tribal show in 1985, which they moved to San Francisco, where it grew and became the leading show in this genre.

Shown from left are John Morris, Elizabeth Lees and Kim Martindale. Photo courtesy of Kim Martindale.

“We are very pleased to add the prestigious San Francisco Tribal & Textile Arts Show to our art show roster and hope to attract people from around the world who are interested in this kind of art,” said Kim Martindale, partner in Objects of Art Shows. “With additional programming, having the American Indian Art Show – Marin and the San Francisco Tribal & Textile Arts Show take place within a week in the Bay Area creates a time frame when dealers and collectors can come to San Francisco and experience some of the most magnificent tribal and American Indian art anywhere.”

Collectively, Martindale and Morris own and produce a number of art shows, including the Objects of Art – Santa Fe, the Antique American Indian Art Show – Santa Fe, both in New Mexico in August; the LA Art Show and the Los Angeles Fine Art Show in January at the LA Convention Center; and the American Indian Art Show – Marin, at the Marin Center, San Rafael, CA in February.

“We are very pleased and proud to be continuing this exciting event in San Francisco,” said John Morris, partner in Objects of Art Shows. “Many of the exhibitors are old friends and we look forward to working with them to continue building this show as the most important of its kind in the country.”

The San Francisco Tribal & Textile Arts Show is the leading art fair devoted to the arts of tribal cultures in the United States. Crafted to meet the needs of tribal art collectors and enthusiasts, the show presents a comprehensive selection of national and international galleries representing the art and artifacts of indigenous peoples throughout the world.

“It’s been such a pleasure to build the San Francisco Tribal & Textile Arts Show over the past 30 years, but the time has come for me to pass the torch. I have every confidence that Kim Martindale and John Morris will continue to grow the show and make it even more successful, and I look forward to working with them through the transition,” said Lees. “I’m not quite ready for full retirement yet however; I will still be working on the New York Ceramics & Glass Fair and as a consultant to the tribal show.”

“Right from the beginning we had a very good response,” she said, recalling the early days of the show. When she and Bill moved from Canada to California, there were no shows like this at the time. “We started the show as a very small, one-day specialty show. It was very informal.”

The three show promoters are no strangers. Lees has known Martindale for 35 years and Morris for 25 years. “When I was deciding it was probably time to slow down, there wasn’t really anybody else I considered approaching,” she said, describing the decision as a “no-brainer.”

Objects Of Art Shows is the new company formed by Martindale and Morris, now co-partners in the San Francisco Tribal & Textile Art Show, which will return February 9–12 followed by the American Indian Art Show – Marin February 17–19.

Next up for Morris and Martindale are Objects of Art – Santa Fe, August 11–14, and Antique and American Indian Art Show – Santa Fe August 16–19.

For more information, www.santafeshows.com or call Kim Martindale at 310-822-9145 and John Morris at 310-456-2120.