Art of Remembrance

25th Annual Art of Remembrance Altar Exhibit

October 10 - November 4, 2022

AAACNA Studies Center, 5th Floor & Children’s Room, 1st Floor

Held annually in the Africana, Asian American, Chicano, and Native American (AAACNA) Studies Center in partnership with the San José Multicultural Artists Guild and San José Public Library, this highly anticipated exhibit will be returning in person on the fifth floor and the first floor Children's Room – highlighting traditional and contemporary visual arts by local and Bay Area artists celebrating Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

Thank you to this year's altar artists:

Lissa Jones

Elizabeth Jimenez Montelongo (Children’s Room)

Carlos Villez

Irene Berrones-Kolb

Maria Luisa Colmenarez

Rosario Oliva

Araceli Mireya Holmes

Sofia Arredondo

Consulado General del Condado de Santa Clara

Marisa Ortiz

Mary Andrade

Rick Moreno

Chicanx/Latinx Center, SJSU

Elena Robles

Chicana and Chicano Studies, SJSU

Notre Dame San Jose

Eddie Gonzalez

San José Public Library

Altar Evolutions: From Cultural Ritual to Sociopolitical & Aesthetic Performance

The AAACNA Studies Center in partnership with SJSU's Chicana and Chicano Studies Department hosted Professor and Chair Dr. Ella Maria Diaz on November 2, 2022 via Zoom for a slideshow and talk about the sociopolitical and aesthetic traditions of Día de los Muertos in the United States.

Diaz’s 2017 book Flying Under the Radar with the Royal Chicano Air Force won the 2019 Book Award for the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies Association (NACCS). Her second book, José Montoya, Volume 12 of the Aver series with the Chicano Studies Research Center at UCLA, won gold medals in Best Biography and Best Arts book at the 2021 International Latino Book Awards.

Virtual Día de los Muertos Festival

Held on October 23, 2022 the online festival was hosted by the San Jose Multicultural Artists Guild. Watch the recording now!

News Coverage

"San Jose Multicultural Artists Guild Celebrates 25th Dia de Los Muertos" | Metro | Vol. 38, No. 34, October 26 - November 1, 2022

"‘Ofrendas’ illuminate MLK Jr Library" | Spartan Daily | Volume 159, No. 29, October 27, 2022

Supported By:

The 25th Annual "Art of Remembrance Altar Exhibit" has been made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in partnership with the Social Science Research Council and the American Rescue Plan: Humanities Grants for Libraries, an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).