On view November 3, 2018 through December 8, 2018
Historic Southwest Museum Mt. Washington Campus
234 Museum Drive, Los Angeles, 90065
REMEMBRANCE, THE FACES AND PLACES is not just one exhibit, but a community theme exploring how we love and honor those who have left the world better than when they entered it. The rituals of death are different in each culture, but grief for lost loved ones is universal, as is the need for a sense of continuity with our ancestors. Thus, as we are different, we are the same.
This pop-up exhibition from the Arroyo Arts Collective asked local artists to explore a deepened understanding of Día de los Muertos, and all rituals, historically and worldwide, associated with how we grieve, how we continue to love, and how we go on in the face of loss.
Nineteen altars adorned the niche spaces of the buildings' famed portal tunnel, which originally housed dioramas illustrating various ways of Native American life. Each artist was selected to ensure both diversity of cultural expression, and for prior achievement and recognition. These displays showcased the physical manifestations of traditional respect for the dead in the many cultures that are part of the Northeast Los Angeles community, including, African, Armenian, Central and South American, Chicano, Chinese, European, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, and Native American.
The Gallery Show in Sprague Hall, curated by Kathy Gallegos and Frank Parrello, featured pieces that reflected the theme of remembering our loved ones or, more broadly, loved places, times or situations.
As an added part of the six week-long series of events, guests were invited to participate in activities including dance performance, traditional craft workshops, poetry readings and artist talks. Admission was free.
