One-day Celebration
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
6:00-9:00 PM

Altered Esthetics invites the community to come together and celebrate the lives of those we have lost.
El Día de Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) is a time to remember loved ones who have passed away and a time for families and the community to come together. Altered Esthetics is having a one-day celebration, art show and candlelight procession on November 2nd 2010.

The celebration and exhibit opening will take place in the evening, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, and is free and open to the public. The candlelight procession will take place at 8:30pm. We will begin the procession at Ae and continue around the surrounding Ae neighborhood, returning to the gallery at 9:00 PM.

Artists and guests are welcome to set up their own ofrendas at Ae gallery prior to the event - we are open Saturday, October 30th 1pm-5pm and Tuesday, November 2, from 1pm-4pm.


Call for Participation in the Ofrenda Project

Ways to Help:

-Construct an Ofrenda. If you have an easily viewed or accessed space we invite you and/or your organization to design and communally construct an ofrenda onsite to be enjoyed by passerby.

-Donate Space. If you have space available temporarily but are unable to construct the ofrenda yourself, we would be more than happy to connect you with a local ofrenda artist.

-Sponsor. Monetary donations or in-kind donations will add tremendous value to the exhibition and to our efforts in reaching out to the community.

-Participate! Come celebrate with us November 2nd as we gather to view international, national, and local artists, tour local ofrendas, and go on a spirit walk.

You can help make our event a success!

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At Altered Esthetics, we believe artists represent a voice of society and our mission is to support and expand a vibrant arts community. Part of how we do that is by engaging with the community and creating the sort of involvement that allows their voice to be part of the fabric of the gallery. In doing so, they get to create art important to them and view art important to others, creating a visual dialogue that reflects each individual. This year, we are excited to introduce a new component to our community celebration of Día de los Muertos, one we hope will help us to further extend the reach of the arts outside the boundaries of the gallery while encouraging interaction across cultural and community divides.

El Día de los Muertos, or The Day of the Dead, is a celebration that can be traced back to indigenous cultures in Mexico and has connections with the Catholic holidays All Saints Day (on November 1st) and All Souls Day (November 2nd). The celebration focuses on gathering family and friends to pray for and remember those who have passed and can include many different traditions. While these are not universal and vary from town to town, ofrendas, or private altars honoring the deceased, are one of the more commonly seen traditions. Festooned with marigolds, sugar skulls, pan de muerto (bread of the dead), pictures and mementos, and the preferred food or beverage of the deceased, Ofrendas serve as gathering points for family and friends as well as memorials. In celebration of the holiday, homes are opened to the neighborhood and everyone encouraged to gather together in memoriam.

In creating the Community Ofrenda Outreach Program, we at Altered Esthetics are expanding how communities interact and how communal art is made and enjoyed. Built on location in different areas around the city, the ofrendas are reflections of neighborhoods, of friends, of interests, of culture, of place. Organizations and interested parties are encouraged to create ofrendas on-site that use materials and mementos significant to them, or to memorialize a person, place, or idea that has special relevance to their lives. United as a series, yet unique as a thumbprint, the ofrendas are meant to be gathering points along a route that takes the average art enthusiast outside of the gallery space and into the act of art itself.

To bring the event full-circle Altered Esthetics will be hosting a one-day only exhibit featuring the art of those inspired by or reflecting on the holiday as well as an ofrenda built by AE staff and volunteers. Finishing off the evening will be a candlelight vigil walk with community members around the neighborhood.

Art-making in the beginning was a means of communication in communities. Altered Esthetics seeks to return and continue that tradition by seeking new ways of connecting with those outside of established art circles, returning to the role of art as the voice of not one but many.

for more information about the Ofrenda project, please contact Kristin Thompson, kristin-at-alteredesthetics.org (replace -at- with @)


Image features Jessie McNally - "Healer"