Dia de los Muertos: Residencies, Workshops, Parades – OH MY!

Small skeleton, skeleton
Guadalupe by MB Hopkins

October 8th marked the beginning of Cityfolk’s Culture Builds Community's Residency #1 – Dia de los Muertos. This residency project is in partnership with Missing Peace Art Space and the opening of their Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) exhibit! How much fun could it be to collaborate with an art gallery on a cultural project?? WAY fun!!!

Gabriela Pickett – owner of Missing Peace – and well-known painter MB Hopkins have combined efforts to fill Missing Peace Art Space with tributes, honors, whimsy and FABulously colorful “soul art,” created to honor loved ones in the Mexican tradition of Dia de los Muertos.

Guadalupe by Leesa Haapapuro

Cityfolk CBC has taken Dia de los Muertos to schools and centers with an exceptional team of artists – Gabriela Pickett, Michael Bashaw, Joy Levett and Rodney Veal – working with youth and youth leaders to bring life to the Day of the Dead. The result will be a parade with a dance finale, a live community altar for remembrances at the event, delicious food by Taqueria Mixteca and an outstanding community Ofrienda exhibit created by Dayton artists, opening on November 2nd for the whole month at Missing Peace!

There was a workshop for Dayton artists on October 13th to support the creation of individual exhibit submissions. It was a fruitful day, as these photos attest. The residency sites are busy with large (and I mean large!) parade skeletons, moving musical sculptures, carefully crafted words from young writers and dance that evokes the spirit of our loved ones. The tradition of Dia de los Muertos suggests a return to life for souls once departed, back to enjoy their earthly delights for just one day!

Support Cityfolk by buying a
ceramic mug bearing the image of
a painting by Gabriela Pickett,
available at Missing Peace

Let’s celebrate that day together on November 2nd, starting at 6:00pm with the Dia de los Muertos parade! Everyone is welcome to join! You’ll need something festive to wear, in honor of a lost loved one!!! (This is NOT Halloween – that celebration will have already happened. This is a celebration of life.) The parade will take us all the way to Missing Peace Art Space, 5th and Dutoit, where parade participants and onlookers will enjoy a dance finale, great food and the opening of the Community Ofrienda exhibit!!! It will be a great night to share memories!!!