The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is celebrating Día de los Muertos this year with four nights of music, dancing, activities and an installation of contemporary Mexican artwork titled, “Tzompantli y ostros huesos.”

Open Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 29-30, and Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 1-2, the annual exhibit and festivities are free to the public from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Día de los Muertos — Day of the Dead — is a celebration that honors deceased loved ones every year on Nov. 1 and 2. The holiday originated thousands of years ago as a gathering to remember and honor the dead through ritualistic dancing and singing, and was eventually combined with the Catholic All Saint’s Day.

The “Tzompantli y ostros huesos (Skulls and other Bones)” art exhibit features work from graphic artists at the Taller de Gráfica Del Centro de los Artes Guanajunto organization in Mexico. The display will be on view in the Ford Lecture Hall.

Dancing, poetry and live music by El Son del Montón will be featured each evening. In the museum’s art studio, visitors of all ages can create some of their own Day of the Dead artwork with activities led by Mexican ceramic artists Martín, Blas and Ernesto Guevara.

In addition, ofrendas will be on display throughout the exhibit. Ofrendas are the colorful Día de los Muertos altars where living family members leave tokens of affection, food and drink during the celebrations. The altars typically decorate the gravesites of dead family members.

This year, the museum is providing a community ofrenda where visitors can bring photos or non-valuable items to remember their loved ones (the items will not be returned).

The event is sponsored by the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Oak Hill School, U.S. Bank, MEChA de UO, Adelante Sí, El Instituto de Cultura de Guanajuato and El Instituto Estatal de Atención al Migrante Guanajuatense y sus Familias.

—By Nathaniel Brown, Public Affairs Communications intern