Fall Family Day at the Richmond Art Center Coming Soon!
Fall Family Day at the Richmond Art Center
Fall Family Day:
Saturday, October 28
12:30pm to 3:00pm
Free!
The annual celebration welcoming family, honoring Dia del los Muertos through artmaking activities, and sharing a Community Altar takes place on Saturday, October 28, 2017.
The Richmond Art Center once again offers its popular Fall event, Fall Family Day, welcoming the community to this all-ages, free event to make art and celebrate family with a special Community Altar. The event will take place at the Richmond Art Center, located in Civic Center Plaza, 2540 Barrett Avenue, in Richmond from 12:30 to 3:00pm on Saturday, October 28. The Exhibition galleries will also be open to visitors, to experience the current Fall collections, which include Joan Brown: In Living Color; Earth, Wind, and Fire; and Pogo Park.
The planned artmaking activities are free, and children under 12 should be accompanied by an adult. The day’s activities include:
Little Piñatas with Isaías D. Rodríguez, the Little Piñata Maker
A piñata is a container often made of papier-mâché, pottery, or cloth; it is decorated, and filled with small toys or candy, or both, and then broken as part of a ceremony or celebration. According to local records, the Mexican piñata tradition began in the town of Acolman, just north of Mexico City, where piñatas were introduced for catechism purposes as well as to co-opt the Huitzilopochtli ceremony. Today, the piñata is still part of Mexican culture, the cultures of other countries in Latin America, as well as the United States.
Metal Nichos/Milagros with Malena Lopez-Maggi
Nicho art originated as a popular adaptation of the Roman Catholic retablo tradition of painting patron saints on wood or tin. Unlike the large, flat panels of retablo, nichos are small and built in shadow box style. Common structural conventions include hinged doors, carved borders, and multiple panels. Within the box there is a key object or central figure for whose honor or memory the nicho has been created. Nichos are usually painted with striking colors and are decorated with all variety of images and objects from religious and popular culture, especially depictions of the Virgin Mary, saints, the sacred heart, figures from loteria, Dia de los Muertos characters and objects, and folk heroes. They can act as shrines, protection, or devotional objects.
Paper Flowers with Lisa di Prima
Why marigolds? It is believed that the spirits of the dead visit the living during the celebration. Marigolds guide the spirits to their altars using their vibrant colors and scent. Marigolds, or flowers in general, also represent the fragility of life.
Community Altar
Building a Dia de los Muertos altar is an important part of celebrating Mexico’s most famous holiday, Day of the Dead. Traditionally, families will build altars in their homes during the weeks leading up to November 1st, as a way to celebrate and remember loved ones who have passed to the other side.
Together we will remember our loved ones and those who are no longer with us, in creating a Community Altar. We invite you to be a part of the Richmond Art Center’s Community Altar, please bring pictures, objects, fabrics or an altar offering. Items should be limited 16 inches or less and no flames/candles will be lit. All items for the altar must be properly labeled with your first name, last name and phone number. Drop off for the Community Altar is between Tuesday, October 24 and Friday, October 27, 9am-5pm, to the Studio Education Office. All items should be picked up by Friday, November 3. Questions? Call the Education Office at 510.620.1245.
Screen Printing Bags with Joyce Shon
Have fun learning the basics of screenprinting on fabric with our longtime teaching artist Joyce Shon.
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