McLean County Museum of History launches Dia de los Muertos installation

Photo courtesy of the McLean County Museum of History’s official website

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The McLean County Museum of History is hosting a Dia de los Muertos celebration on Nov 1 beginning at 4 p.m. The celebration this year will include an art installation by community artists. Micaela Harris serves as the Director of Communications at the museum with Emily McCusker who is the Director of Youth and Family Education.

The installation in past years has focused on different elements of the Dia de los Muertos culture, this year community members Miriam Padilla and Jesús Islas made ofrendas central to the installation.

“The installation this year is going to be really focused on modern ofrendas, and what you would see at home, we’re going to have all of the traditional elements.” Harris said.

The community ofrenda will incorporate the earth, wind, water and fire with elements like marigolds, candles, and photos of loved ones who have passed. Harris and McCusker shared that providing a space for Latinx families within the museum is a great way for those community members to see themselves represented in the county’s local history.

Additionally, the installation and celebration can serve as an opportunity for non-Latinx community members to learn about the cultural significance behind Dia de los Muertos. Harris adds that this celebration has given the museum an opportunity to launch its new Spanish language audio tour which will facilitate the museum exhibits for non-English speaking patrons.

“A big thing I wanted to touch on was accessibility.” McCusker said, “Our goal is to tell the stories of the individuals of McLean County.”

The museum encourages patrons to bring in a copy of a photo of their loved ones so that they can be included in the community ofrenda which will remain up for two weeks after the initial event on Nov 1.