I cannot remember if I shared this video last year and if I did, I couldn't find it while I was digging around through my archives. But I really love it and the project behind it. The Young People's Ofrenda project is an award-winning collaborative project between El-Colegio Charter school and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts that engages students to participate in the holiday by celebrating their ancestors that have passed on.
Young People's Ofrendas:
Expressions of Life and Remembrance
This year's exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts opened on Tuesday and runs through November 24th in Gallery 110. And admission is free! I so wish I could take my kids to see it. If you live in the area and go to visit, please snap some pics and tell us what you and your kids think of it!
If you are interested in the project and doing a similar one at home or at your school, MIA does offer downloadable Teacher's Guides in both English and Spanish. The project has five phases. Students must:
- Honor their ancestors
- Turn their ideas into images
- Create a personal ofrenda
- Write an artist's statement
- Exhibit the ofrendas
As part of the project, these particular students had to video log their projects.
But you can learn so much more by visiting their website, as well as by watching this short video produced a couple of years ago...