The Common Lobby Gallery at Amarillo College will come alive once again for a student art show celebrating the Day of the Dead – Día de Los Meurtos – an exhibit opening on Thursday, Oct. 31 with a broad spectrum of visual arts.
Día de Los Meurtos is a Latin American holiday honoring dead loved ones, encouraging them through their journey in the afterlife with both costumed revelry and prayer.
AC’s 17th annual Day of the Dead visual arts student art show, which invites submissions of photography, sculptures, crafts, drawings, paintings and more, will open with a reception from 5-7 p.m. Oct. 31 at the Common Lobby Gallery.
The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
The artwork will be on display through Nov. 14 at the gallery, which is located on the underground level in the foyer of the Concert Hall Theater in the Music Building on the Washington Street Campus.
“Day of the Dead is a holiday with a complex history, and therefore its observance varies quite a bit by region and by degree of urbanization,” said Steven Cost, associate professor of art and curator of the Common Lobby Gallery. “It is not Halloween and not a morbid occasion; rather, it is a festive one.
“This is a time when Mexican, Guatemalan, San Salvadorian, Brazilian and other Latin American families remember their dead and the continuity of life. We like to celebrate the holiday through art.”
Short essays explaining each artist’s inspiration will accompany the pieces in the exhibit.
-Amarillo College