Honoring our grief and loss
Detroit Institute of Arts’ Ofrendas exhibit respects those in mourning on Day of the Dead
Halloween may be a holiday of dressing up and making fun of everything scary, but it ushers in serious commemorations of the departed for Christian faithful worldwide.
In Christianity, All Saints’ Day (Nov. 1) is a religious holiday, also known as All Hallows’ Day, Hallowmas or the Feast of All Saints, in which believers remember all saints and martyrs. All Souls’ Day (Nov. 2, or Nov. 3 if the 2nd is a Sunday), is a day of prayer for those souls in purgatory in Roman Catholic and Anglo-Catholic churches.
People in Mexico and other Latin-American countries remember their lost loved ones on the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), which spans Oct. 31Nov. 2, with special altars called ofrendas (“offerings”). These altars embrace the inevitability of death with love, not fear.
In celebration of Day of the Dead, the Detroit Institute of Arts has partnered with Detroit’s Mexican Consulate in the eighth annual ofrendas project, “Ofrendas: Celebrating el Día de Muertos,” an exhibition of altars created by Detroiters in loving memory, which opened Sept. 26. These ofrendas include objects important to the dearly departed, such as favorites foods, drinks, mementos, pictures, pan de muerto (bread of the dead), sugar skulls, candles, flowers, papel picado (paper cutouts) and other decorations.
Some of the ofrendas honor a personal loss, some address com
munal loss and others highlight current events, such as COVID-19, and political issues.
“Detroit has a vibrant Mexican-American community and honoring this important cultural and artistic tradition is just one of the ways we are working toward bringing all members of our communities together,” DIA Director Salvador Salort-Pons said in a press release. “Visitors from all backgrounds will make their own personal connections to each of these ofrendas, as well as to the local artists who created them.”
This year, 12 proposals were selected from 27 submitted by local artists. All submissions were juried by a selection committee of DIA staff and community members of Mexican heritage. A 13th altar, featuring objects and decorations arranged on tables submitted by DIA staff as well as projected images of lost loved ones submitted by the public via social media, acts as a community ofrenda, a place for DIA visitors to grieve collectively, especially in light of losses to COVID-19.
Those interested in adding to the community ofrenda can share a photo on social media using the hashtag #DIAOfrendas2020 by including the names of lost loved ones and the years they lived. The museum’s interpretation team is updating the community ofrenda as submissions are received.
“Ofrendas: Celebrating el Día de Muertos” is on view during regular museum hours and is included with general museum admission. Residents of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties may enter the museum for free.
A virtual tour this year allows people to stay home and stay safe from exposure to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Accessible at dia.org/ ofrendas2020, it lets viewers move through the galleries and zoom in on details of the ofrendas.
“Ofrendas: Celebrating el Día de Muertos 2020” runs through Sunday, Nov. 8, both in person and virtually.