Life is a Dream: A Day of the Dead Ofrenda

Join in this community activation event to create an ofrenda with artist Andrea Arroyo on Saturday, October 26th, 3:00 – 4:30 PM. The ofrenda will be on view in the Morris-Jumel Mansion from October 26th – November 17th, 2024.

Life is a Dream is an art installation inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead tradition. It is based on the belief in the connection between the living and the deceased and the everlasting link between this world and the next. On the Day of the Dead, ofrendas – offerings placed at an altar – welcome the spirits of our loved ones for one night. 

Life is a Dream combines traditional and modern elements and invites the community to participate in creating a meaningful shared experience. Attendees are encouraged to bring small photographs (copies, not originals) and cards to place on the altar to remember their loved ones (no food or candles, please). We will provide paper and markers so attendees can write short messages to loved ones and ancestors. Day of the Dead is a revered celebration unrelated to Halloween that does not include morbid, scary, or performative elements.

Life is a Dream is made possible in part with support from Mano a Mano: Mexican Culture Without Borders and the Puffin Foundation and is presented in conjunction with Andrea Arroyo’s exhibition Faces & Façades, on view through March 23, 2025.

Image: Detail of an ofrenda (“Viva la Vida”) commissioned by the School of Visual Arts and Flatiron in 2023. Photography credit: Mariana Otalora.