Princeton Exhibition Honors The Dead, Celebrates Representation

PRINCETON, NJ – Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a yearly celebration where Mexican communities honor the memories of those who have passed. But in the year of COVID-19, this celebration hits too close to home.

Each year, Princeton commemorates this day with a celebration at the Princeton Shopping Center, complete with a Mariachi band, dance performances, food, drink and more.

But with social distancing rules and a pandemic to worry about, Veronica Olivares-Weber and Maria Evans from the Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) came up with something better – an exhibition.

“Día de Muertos is part of who we are, our culture. The gallery was open for two weeks so we put this exhibition together,” said Olivares-Weber, who’s also on the board of ACP.

The exhibition, currently being held at the ACP’s Taplin Gallery is a colorful representation of Mexican culture.

The exhibition features an elaborate altar, flower constructions, calavera de azucar or sugar skulls, papel picado and nichos - a kind of Mexican folk art.

Before the exhibition, Olivares-Weber held workshops for community members. Participants learnt to make paper banners, sugar skulls and other art work, which is now proudly displayed at the exhibition.

“I can’t tell you how many Mexican families have come in with their children to see the exhibition. A mother was proudly showing her two children her culture. It’s so special,” said Olivares-Weber.

Princeton, although predominantly White, has a Latino population of around 7.7 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But Olivares-Weber says they usually hesitates to participate in community activities due to language barriers.

“Most Latino families don’t use the public library or come to ACP. In the past, I’ve worked to get them to participate in story-time at the library, and now it’s wonderful to see them visit the ACP,” she said.

The exhibition is more or less, a sort of representation for the Latino community in this affluent town.

Olivares-Weber, who’s also a member of Housing Initiatives of Princeton, thinks this exhibition is a great way to facilitate cultural understanding.

“The exhibition helps the larger community understand what this celebration means to us,” she said.

Olivares-Weber, her daughters Valeria and Kyara, and husband Oscar put together the Altar de Muertos, papel picado and the sugar skulls. Other pieces featured in the exhibition include an untitled ceramic piece by Thaddeus ‘TJ’ Erdahl, Papel Picados by Eduardo Lugos Reyes, La Cama de Flores by Maria Evans, La Catrina by Valeria Torres-Olivares and more.

The altar at the exhibition also features sugar skulls in memory of all those Princetonians who lost their lives to COVID-19.

Olivares-Weber who made Princeton her home since 2007, is proud of this celebration of diversity the town allows.

“For me, it’s so important to promote the diversity of the community. I want to continue making sure such events happens so people can see their culture is being represented,” she said.

The exhibition is on till Nov. 14, at the Arts Council of Princeton. For more information and gallery hours, visit artscouncilofprinceton.org.

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This article originally appeared on the Princeton Patch