Remembrance and Celebration:
Community Altar Project
Developed by Carolyn Kallenborn and David Wells
Madison, Wisconsin
This project was inspired by altar making traditions in Mexico for Day of the Dead but community and personal altars of remembrance are created all over the world. We invited individuals, artists, students, friends, family, churches, hospice group and others to take part in a co
mmunity exhibition at Edgewood College in Madison WI. We put the invitations out in both English and Spanish so many would feel included. When we invited the community to participate, we were amazed at the level of interest in this project, thrilled by the number of people who wanted to participate, and deeply touched by how personal the work became for so many people. It was incredibly moving to walk through the space lined with boxes filled with memories of loved ones who had passed on. During the 3 receptions we hosted, you would often hear someone talking about all of the things they had put inside and why. And in doing so, they were sharing the personality and memories of their loved ones with those who were listening. The space was filled with both laughter and tears. As in the making of the altars themselves, there is no right or wrong way to do this. One could do the same thing with shoeboxes or other existing containers. We built box sizes that would efficiently use store-bought lumber, but the size doesn’t matter. Big or small, for a day or for a month, inside or outside, 2 dimensional or 3 dimensional, on the wall or on the ground, giving people a space to publically share their love and celebrate the life of someone or something they have lost, can create a very powerful collective energy. We felt that this experience was one that could easily be replicated in other cities and communities and through this website, we want to share what we did. On my webpage: www.lavidaylosmuertos.com we put out step by step instruction on what we did but we encourage you to find the way that best works for you. We would like to hear about your own remembrance and celebration. Please let us know where you had the event, how many participated, your own reflections and post photos of your own event on this FACEBOOK PAGE
The prompt was simple:
As a participant in the exhibition, you are invited to use your shadow box to create an altar in whatever way feels most meaningful to you. You can draw from a specific tradition or create something completely expressive. You can make or arrange objects or pictures, paint, glued, write letters or poems, build, draw etc. There is no right or wrong. Do what feels right and creates your own remembrance and celebration of the person, community or event you are honoring
