Installations and artist displays
Artist intervention and
altar by Mexican artist
Betsabeé Romero
An astonishing art installation
based on a Day of the Dead
altar. Illuminated balloons and
dancing skeletons will float
above you as serpents of
marigolds surround you.
The Calavera Cabinet
AVM Curiosities present
an exclusive edible altar,
embellished with crystallised
roses, chocolate Mexican
milagros and edible
iconography, alongside sugar
skulls by Conjurer’s Kitchen
and wallpaper by Anatomy
Boutique. This deliciously
macabre confection is a
celebration of life, death
and time.
A multi-sensory Day
of the Dead experience
To make your Day of the Dead
experience truly immersive,
the main entrance will be lined
with braziers of burning copal
incense and decorated with
cempasuchil (marigolds).
Artwork adapted from José Guadalupe
Posada (1852–1913), The Great
Pantheon of Love. Engraving, c. 1910.
Food and drink
Mesoamerican tree
10.30–16.30
participative altar
Day of the Dead-inspired
Gone but not forgotten.
refreshments are available
This altar in the form of a
to buy throughout the day.
tree will have its branches
adorned with your messages
to deceased loved ones.
Shopping
Day of the Dead altar
by FONART
Come and see a traditional
Day of the Dead altar by
FONART, The Mexican
National Fund for the
Development of Arts
and Crafts.
A range of products
inspired by Day of the Dead
is available from the shops
or britishmuseum.org/shop
Join in online
#DaysOfTheDead
Artists’ work
# MXUK
In the Clore Centre for
Education Foyer you can
see photography and
paintings by Antonio Olmos,
Sign up for the
Matthew Barlow and
Museum’s enewsletter
Roberto Cortázar, all inspired
at britishmuseum.org
by Day of the Dead.
The British Museum
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG
Tottenham Court Road,
Holborn, Russell Square
© The Trustees of the British Museum 10/2015
Understanding the Day of the Dead
Monday 2 November, 10.30 –16.30
Days of
the Dead
A series of free
lectures, gallery
talks and a film
screening explaining
the meaning of the
Day of the Dead
Supported by BP
Lectures and discussions
An introduction to the
Day of the Dead today
and its context
10.30–11.00
With Jago Cooper,
British Museum.
Aztec concepts of death
and the afterlife
11.00–11.45
The Aztecs had a practical
idea of the afterlife as being
determined by the manner
of a person’s death. As such,
there were three places
inhabited by the dead.
In this talk Dr Elizabeth
Baquedano, UCL Institute of
Archaeology, examines and
evaluates both the historical
and archaeological record,
including recent finds,
revealing how some ancient
ideas and practices are
still prevalent in presentday Mexico.
Venue key
Room number
BP Lecture Theatre
Great Court
Ancestor veneration and
oracles from the other
world in southern Mexico
12.15–13.00
Indigenous communities in
southern Mexico share a
worldview wherein ancestors
have a prominent role in
social relationships and
human action. Here, people
live in constant and effective
communication with their
deceased elders, who
sometimes behave as oracles
warning of possible dangers
to come. In this talk, Dr Araceli
Rojas Martinez Gracida,
Leiden University, will share
some aspects of the realm of
ancestors and their veneration
among the Mixe of Oaxaca,
including the extensive
celebrations of Day of the
Dead or Todos Santos.
Meet the author:
Oscar de Muriel
14.15–14.45 (just drop in)
Born in Mexico City and now
living in the UK, author Oscar
de Muriel discusses the vision
of death in Mexico and Latin
America, and how these
themes have influenced his
work as a fiction writer.
20th-century Mexico:
revolutions in culture
and politics
14.15–15.00
Mexico’s early 20th-century
revolution overthrew the
old order, but the new
revolutionary culture drew
inspiration from Mexico’s
history and its indigenous
heritage. Professor Patience
Schell offers an overview of
the revolution and examines
its repercussions in art, film
and literature.
Meet the artist:
Betsabeé Romero
15.15–16.00
Jago Cooper and Laura
Osorio, British Museum and
Susana Garduño Arana,
Cultural Attaché, Embassy of
Mexico in the UK, talk to artist
Betsabeé Romero about
her installation in the Great
Court, an altar dedicated
to migrants worldwide.
Toledo and the Trinity of
Death in Mexico: Dia de los
Muertos, La Catrina y La
Sante Muerte
16.10–16.30
Angus Fraser,
Photographers’ Gallery
Film
Gallery talks
Calling Home the Dead
(Llamar a los Muertos
a Casa)
13.10–14.00
The villagers of Lake
Pátzcuaro lovingly clean and
prepare graves with beautiful
handmade ofrendas, blankets
of marigolds and special
foods. They shoot rockets into
the heavens to awaken the
departed souls and call them
home. More tone poem than
traditional documentary, this
film transports the viewer in
a compelling celebration of
the continuity of life and the
enduring love of family and
friends. Images saturated with
colour and life join a magical
soundtrack of original and
local music, and a window
is opened to another world.
47 mins, Director: Jim Hill
Day of the Dead in fashion
11.00–11.20
Mariam Bujalil.
Eye-opener gallery
tour: Mexico at the
British Museum
11.30–12.10, 13.00–13.40
& 15.20–16.00
Mexican altars to the
dead: where mythology
meets ecology
12.15–12.35
Omar Regalado
Fernandez, UCL.
Ancestors in the
Yaxchilan lintels
12.45–13.15 and
14.45–15.15
Claudia Zehrt, UCL
Institute of Archaeology.
Pre-Hispanic death
and the afterlife through
the Aztec mosaics
14.15–15.00
Dr Elizabeth Baquedano,
UCL Institute of Archaeology.
All events are free.
Booking required for each
lecture, unless stated.
Collecting Mexico: Henry
Christy’s contributions
to the British Museum
14.30–15.15
Kate Jarvis, British Museum.
Understanding the
Day of the Dead altar
(Mesoamerican tree altar)
11.15–11.35 and 11.40–12.00
Javier Calderon,
Chalton Gallery.
Day of the Dead
performance storytelling
11.45–12.15, 13.45–14.15
& 16.00–16.30
By Xanthe Gresham-Knight,
The Crick Crack Club.
Mosaic mask of Quetzalcoatl.
Mexica/Mixtec (Aztec). From
Mexico, 15th–16th century.
Araceli Rojas
Martinez Gracida.
Betsabeé Romero.
Calling Home the Dead.
The Crick Crack Club.