Lam Museum of Anthropology Celebrates Day of the Dead’s Diversity

For roughly the past 20 years, Wake Forest University’s Timothy S.Y. Lam Museum of Anthropology has continuously displayed a variety of Day of the Dead exhibits. Initially small in size and the amount of time this would be on display, the exhibit’s size has grown throughout the years depending on the museum’s gallery space available. This year, the museum brings back the exhibit in the largest form ever displayed, along with an upcoming open house unlike any in the past.  

The museum’s assistant director Sara Cromwell has guided the curation of the exhibit since it was turned over to her several years ago. Many of the pieces on display had been brought back from various visits to Mexico by the former curator who, having spent time in San Miguel de Allende, was able to share with Cromwell the experience of the celebration in Mexico. Fascinated with the topic, Cromwell was excited to update what has now become a traditional exhibit.    

Reflecting on past exhibits, Cromwell looks to highlight the existing diversity in the celebration. “Day of the Dead is vastly different in different places and that’s actually something the current exhibit splits into urban areas versus rural areas,” said the assistant director. “This is not a universal thing and I’m trying to emphasize diversity even in our focus on a very specific cultural practice.” Throughout Mexico, ofrendas look different depending on the region and some places do not celebrate Day of the Dead at all.

A new addition to the current exhibit is the display of student artwork from the Northwest Middle School Art Club. Museum Educator Tina Smith reached out to Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools to inquire about collaborating with a teacher. The school district recommended Northwest Middle School art teacher Natasha Young and both Smith and Young worked together with the school’s art club to expose them to the celebration’s background and guide them through the creation of original artwork.  

“I wanted to express to my students how much of a big deal this was because there’s several working artists who never really get their work displayed in a space where the public can see it,” Young said of the opportunity for her art club to collaborate with the museum. “Now they can add to their resumes as they go further in their educational careers that they had a piece of artwork up in the Lam Museum of Anthropology over on the Wake Forest University campus.”   

Through their collaboration, Smith and Young led a brainstorming session in which Smith shared artifacts from the museum with students to expose them to different ideas they could work from and introduce those unfamiliar with the celebration to the overall topic. “I have a diverse group of students so it’s not a part of everyone’s culture,” said Young. “However, we talked about how even though it’s not necessarily a part of your culture, you can still pay homage to those who have gone before you.”   

The museum is well known for its collaboration with the community but until now had never showcased student artwork from beyond the campus as part of this exhibit. The student pieces currently on display include a variety of memory boxes, masks, collages, and even a fusion of any of those three, which were the options provided to the art club for this collaboration. “Projects like this give my kids an opportunity to really experience things outside of the classroom,” said Young. “And that’s what I want them to have, a full, rich experience.”

While the exhibit changes year after year, the availability of such a large space this time around was perfect for displaying such a complete collection of pieces including those from Northwest Middle School’s Art Club. Not all of the current museum selections always make it to the gallery, but aside from a few Day of the Dead pieces the Lam Museum has loaned to Disney World’s Coco Exhibit at EPCOT, everything is out on display this year.

Parts of the exhibit that don’t always make it out include “Commercialization of Day of the Dead.” This selection brings forth the issue of cultural appropriation as well as the acknowledgment of Mexican culture in the United States. “I think it’s a really important part of the conversation,” said Cromwell. “When you buy Dead of the Dead items it’s usually mixed up with the Halloween items.” A common misconception, Day of the Dead and Halloween are separate celebrations unrelated to each other.  

This year, though, Cromwell noticed a change that may be leading our American society in the right direction. Target, one of many large department store chains, is displaying its Day of the Dead items in a separate section from the Halloween items. Additionally, they have included a background explanation of the celebration itself along with information on Flavia Zorrilla Drago, the Mexican artist whom the store collaborated with to develop this year’s collection.

With a great love for this particular exhibit, Cromwell is continuously working on updating and innovating for the ongoing future of Life After Death: The Day of the Dead in Mexico. “Part of what I’m trying to do for next year is a video,” she said. “I’m trying to recruit people who celebrate Day of the Dead, both on campus and in the larger community, to give us some input on how they celebrate and what it means to them.” Anyone interested in participating in a short video interview for this purpose is encouraged to reach out to the museum.

This upcoming Saturday, October 29, the museum will host its Day of the Dead Open House from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A free event open to all ages, the museum will have craft activities, live performances by Raleigh-based Mariachi Los Galleros, a selection of Spanish language books from the Forsyth County Library Book Mobile, face painting by a current WFU art student, and food available for purchase through the Que Viva! Latin Street Grill food truck.

The Timothy S.Y. Lam Museum of Anthropology is located in Palmer Hall on Wake Forest University’s Reynolda Campus. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is free. 

DALIA RAZO is a bilingual journalist, fine arts educator, and doctoral student at UNCG.