A press release from Tacoma Art Museum.
The spirit of art and traditions will be on full display at Tacoma Art Museum’s 17th annual Día de los Muertos celebration Oct. 20-31,2021, with an original tapete (sand painting) and up to 20 ofrendas (altars) created for the event. The community will honor the dead following a year of loss from violence and disease.
Masks and social distancing are required. Programming surrounding the exhibition is scaled back due to the pandemic.
Visitors will see Oct. 20-31:
- Over a dozen community crafted ofrendas (altars), decorated with flowers, candles, clay figurines, skeletons and representation of nourishment for the spirits on their journey home
- A traditional tapete (sand painting), a colorful artwork created on the floor of the museum with sand and pigments
Art, traditions, communities
Exemplifying the museum’s mission to transform communities by sharing art that inspires broader perspectives and cultivates a compassionate future, TAM’s annual Día de los Muertos Festival has grown over the past 16 years.
About the artists
- Artist Fulgencio Lazo will create the tapete assisted by as many as six others. Lazo works predominately with acrylics on canvas in his studios in Seattle and Oaxaca, Mexico. He has had over 40 solo shows throughout the U.S., Mexico, Japan and France.
- Community members will install altars they have created, each personal and unique. Some contributors have participated year after year and involve generations of family in their creations.
About Día de los Muertos
As a celebration of the eternal cycle of life, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) has been observed for centuries as a powerful, symbolic way to honor relatives and friends who have died.
Although strongly identified with Mexico, Día de los Muertos is celebrated throughout Latin America and everywhere with the Latinx population. It has its origins in both Aztec tradition and the Catholic observation of All Saint’s Day. Representation of calacas (skeletons) and calaveras (skulls) are common.
Tacoma Art Museum is located at 1701 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma.
