This year marks the 30th annual Day of the Dead exhibition in Chicago. Three decades ago when the Museum first initiated this artistic tradition, few Chicagoans were familiar with the life-affirming holiday. Today, the ancestral rituals involved in honoring deceased loved ones have become part of the popular culture across the US. Journey of the Soul showcases the indigenous roots and rituals involved in the spiritual tradition. Site-specific ofrendas, popular art, and fine art by more than fifty Mexican artists from both sides of the border make up the largest annual exhibition of Day of the Dead in the U.S.

#30 Día de los Muertos: Journey of the Soul exhibition was dedicated to the victims of the Pulse tragedy in Orlando, FL and to Alejandro Mondragón, the sugar skull maker from Toluca, México who demonstrated the art of alfeñique for twenty years at the Museum.

Participating Artists

Mary J. Andrade (CA), Josefina Aguilar (Oaxaca), Lalo Alcaraz (CA), Pam Bacich (CA), Leonard Castellanos (CA), Alfonso Castillo Orta (1944-2009), Veronica Castillo (Puebla), Carlos Cortéz (1923-2005), Nicolás de Jesús (Guerrero), Bianca Diaz (Chicago), Daniel Martín Díaz (AZ), Jose Dominguez (MN), Luis Fitch (MN), Crescencio Flores Rojas (Guerrero), Francisco Franco (CA), Enrique García (Oaxaca), José Juan García Aguilar (Oaxaca), Leticia García Aguilar (Oaxaca), Consuelo Guillen Reyes (Michoacán), Armando Gutierrez G. (MN), Jaime Hernandez (CA), Gustavo Herrera Yepez (Chicago), George O. Jackson Jr. (TX), Miguel Linares Family (Mexico City), Luis Pablo Mendez (Oaxaca), Felipe Morales (Oaxaca), Rodrigo Oñate (Querétaro), Dougie Padilla (MN), Ignacio Peralta Soledad (Puebla), Francisco Ulises Plancarte Morales (Michoacán), Artemio Rodríguez (Michoacán), Aydeé Rodríguez López (Guerrero), George Rodriguez (TX), Heriberto Rodríguez (Mexico City), Hector Silva (CA), Charles D. Townsend (1896-1975), Pablo Vásquez Matías (Oaxaca), Lorena Lidia Velasco Villanueva (Oaxaca), and Karla Wong (Chicago).

Ofrendas & Installations

Casimiro de la Cruz (Jalisco), Ninibah Chacon (NM), Sandra Cisneros, Dovalina Family (Chicago), Olegario Hernández Mendoza (Oaxaca), Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz (FL), Blanca Estela Tinoco and Museo de Arts y Oficios, Patzcuaro (Michoacán), Monica Trinidad, in collaboration with Black Lives Matter - Chicago, Eric Solorio Academy High School (CPS), Jorge Valdivia (Chicago), Yollocalli Arts Reach and the family of Gabriel Cisneros

Curator

Cesáreo Moreno

Organizing Institution

National Museum of Mexican Art

Displayed at

National Museum of Mexican Art, Main Gallery