Forty Years of Ofrendas Fill a Free Pilsen Museum
A look back through the museum's Permanent Collection, tracing four decades of Día de Muertos exhibitions and how the holiday and the museum evolved, free in the Main Gallery through November 29.
🕯️ The anniversary show
💀 Four decades in one gallery
The National Museum of Mexican Art marks its 40th annual Día de Muertos exhibition with a dedicated retrospective drawn from its permanent collection. The museum curates four decades of its own acquisitions to trace how Day of the Dead evolved across Mexican regions while the institution grew alongside it. The presentation honors Dr. Gilberto Cárdenas, whose vision contributed to the Permanent Collection. The Main Gallery retrospective stays up through November 29, well beyond the holiday.
🌼 Gallery ofrendas, courtyard notes
In the Main Gallery, a mural by Miguel A. Del Real hangs among the retrospective's ofrendas, prints, and paintings. Demetrio García Aguilar of Oaxaca and artists from Mexico City, Washington, and Chicago round out the show. Cross the threshold into the Courtyard, where Yollocalli Arts Reach youth artists installed their own contemporary work. Visitors can add a note, drawing, or memory to the community ofrenda.
🎟️ Free entry, closed Mondays
Admission is free and there is nothing to book. Doors are open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm, with the first Wednesday of each month staying open to 8 pm. The museum closes on Mondays and on Thanksgiving Day. From the Loop, the CTA Pink Line stops at Damen and at 18th Street; the Ray Castro lot beside the building runs $4 an hour and stays open from 8 am to 11 pm.
