In honor of the Day of the Dead, the School of Arts and Culture at MHP hosts an annual event called Avenida de Altares that features a wide array of free art and music programming for the community. One of these programs consists of inviting artists and community members to build temporary public altars to honor their loved ones.

We often do not think about how challenging it is for people to find and make space to grieve, process, and heal. Especially as we live in a world that glamorizes overworking, productivity, success, and having to do and be all of that while trying to take care of your self and your family in an environment that is built around the stressors of social, racial, and environmental inequalities. Especially for communities of color that experience loss at such a disproportionate rate and reality. There is only so much time available until they have to continue on with the physical and emotional demands and labor of the day, time to get on that next bus to get to their 2nd or 3rd job, or enough time to rest only to have to repeat it all over again. There is no time to grieve, process, and heal.

For Avenida de Altares that took place on October 30, 2021, I set out to create an altar that would be collectively built through community participation. Translated in Vietnamese, Spanish, and English, community members were invited to write a message on a double-sided card. One side of the card asks for participants “to honor” their loved ones who have passed and were given the option to highlight through color of the type of loss that they have experienced. Some choices they were available included racism, pandemic, police violence, deportation, and a write-in option. On the opposite side, the card asks for participants “to heal” by offering words of healing they wish for themselves, their loved ones, and for their community. Participants would be able to walk into the space and attach their card on to the altar and in turn, bless the space for those after them to find healing of their own. The purpose creating this community altar was three-fold:

• Provide an opportunity for community members to break out of their daily routines and dedicate space for themselves to grieve, process, and heal.

• Provide a way for them to acknowledge the hurt and sadness that people carry with them in hopes to practice empathy and kindness for themselves and others.

• To view a big picture visualization through the color highighted cards of the amount of loss caused by the pandemic and other forms of loss and violence.

In just 4 hours, the community altar held messages from over 300 participants.

Image #4 photo credit: PFOX