Drop-in workshop: Decorating Calaveras
The finishing programme of Kumu’s Latin American Great Hall exhibition takes you straight to Latin America. On 1 and 2 November, the Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) is celebrated in Mexico. In this drop-in workshop, we will take inspiration from a tradition of this holiday by decorating colourful and functional calaveras to celebrate our ancestors.
The workshop is led by Merari, a Mexican artist based in Estonia. This workshop is suitable for adults and children aged 5+. At the end of the workshop, you will leave with your very own decorated calavera to keep or give to a loved one.
What is a calavera?
A calavera (“skull” in English) is a form of Mexican folk art: a crafted gift, decoration or food in the shape of a human skull. While some calaveras are made from sugar, others are made with clay: these are the ones we will decorate in this workshop. Traditionally, calaveras are decorated in creative and colourful ways as symbols to honour those who have passed away. Sometimes, the name of a loved one for whom the gift is intended is written on the forehead of the calavera, as a vibrant celebration of life and love.
A calavera can also be an artwork related to the Day of the Dead, candy given to children during the celebration or a poem that defies death through humour. The underlying meaning of a calavera is simple: it is a reminder to have fun, because some day you will die.
This event is a part of the public programme of the exhibition “History and Mystery: Latin American Art and Europe”. This is the first time that Latin American art has been exhibited on such a large scale in Estonia. This has been made possible through collaboration with The Phoebus Foundation in Antwerp, which owns one of the largest collections of Latin American art in Europe. The exhibition features art from two eras: the Spanish Colonial period from the 17th to the 19th century, and the modernist art of the 20th century from Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Uruguay and Venezuela.
