By Liana Ngauv
Co-Editor-in-Chief
Because of the recent celebratory hispanic holiday, Dia de los Muertos, The Gallery (an organization by the Museum Studies class and art department) at Millikan produced their first art showcase of the 2021-2022 school year displaying student art. In addition, Millikan’s front office had an ofrenda (an altar) in dedication to the celebration of life and death.
“[The ofrenda] is to celebrate the day. It’s bringing back the stories and the memories of the living so ancestors can come back to life through those stories and mementos,” Veronica Bustamante, Intermediate Office Assistant, says.
Also in celebration, the La Raza Club hosted a mariachi band and folklorico dancers, while selling pan de muertos (bread of the dead) for one dollar. The mariachi band covered the song, “Amor Eterno” by Juan Gabriel. The song describes eternal love for someone who had passed away; this song is played mostly at funerals.
Photo Courtesy of Maria Towne
This picture depicts the office ofrenda.
The art was produced by all the students in the art department regardless of class level. The students had an option to submit their artwork to the gallery in which the Museum Studies class preserves them.
Museum Studies teacher, Tiffaney Gardea, says, “This was the first in-person show in [about] 2 years. I think I have half of the students I had last year but even in a short amount of time; they owned it.”
Photo Courtesy of Bella Towne
This picture depicts Museum Studies class setting up the Art Gallery.
Museum Studies, a class in which anyone can join, is a major part of The Gallery and set up the exhibit. The curators from Museum Studies chose the artwork that was be presented in the Día de Muertos: Art and Soul exhibit.
The Día de Muertos: Art and Soul gallery took place on November 2 (3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) and 5 (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.). For more information and news regarding The Gallery, check The Gallery’s website.
Hailie Paz • Dec 1, 2021 at 12:53 pm
Dear Liana Ngauv, as part of the Museum studies I would like to give my thanks for including us in the Corydon newspaper. I found the mention quite to the point less informative on art than information of the Day of the Dead which is not a bad thing but maybe be more detailed on the show itself. Enough to make people come to our future shows. Overall the mention was kind and honorable thank you for the recognition. – Hailie Paz
Nichole J-m • Dec 1, 2021 at 11:51 am
Thank you! For your lovely article on Dia de los Muertos art show. The inclusion of pictures was
real nice. Although short it had good information on Dia de los Muertos. The mentioning of the
raza club was a nice touch as someone who is hispanic. Though more art description or actual
pictures of the art would be appreciated.
Sharlie • Dec 1, 2021 at 11:44 am
Dear Liana Ngauv,
I enjoyed the Corydon’s article on the Gallery’s recent art show, “Dia De Los Muertos: Art and Soul” . Thank you for introducing our Museum Studies class and spreading the word about our art shows. I would love to see the art pieces discussed more and I look forward to reading more of your work!
Sincerely,
Sharlie Cinco
Jacquelyn Romano • Dec 1, 2021 at 11:40 am
Dear Liana Ngauv,
Thank you for the kind words about our most recent art show for Day of the Dead! It is very encouraging for our team to be receiving feedback that is so heartwarming. We would love for you to do this for our other art shows in the future as well! Thank you for the article!
My best, Jackie Romano (Executive Director)
Xene Sommers • Nov 20, 2021 at 1:55 am
In issue 2/2021 (published November 17, 2021), Liana Ngauv wrote an article titled, “Art, Soul and Nothing but Skulls”. This article talks about the recent celebratory hispanic holiday, Dia de los Muertos, and the art exhibit that took place in honor of this holiday here at Millikan. I was lucky enough to be able to visit the exhibit with my art history class and see the amazing student work put up on the walls and all the hard work that was put in by the museum studies class. They put a lot of thought into the layout of the room and each decoration. It was so colorful and full of life. Prior to reading this article, I was unaware that there was a celebration of life alter in the front office, also showcasing student works. I definitely agree with Mrs. Gardea that the museum studies class definitely nailed it! I’m so grateful to be able to experience this exhibit in person and not virtually. I remember the La Raza Club hosted a mariachi band and folklorico dancers, while selling pan de muertos (bread of the dead) for one dollar. My friends and I really enjoyed watching them in the quad during lunch! Thank you for documenting this wonderful experience!
Giselle Moreno • Nov 18, 2021 at 10:35 am
In Issue 2/2021 (published November 17, 2021), Liana Ngauv wrote an article titled “Art, Soul and Nothing but Skulls”. This article introduces the Museum Studies class and the meaning of Dia de los Muertos. I am familiar with this holiday because it is part of my culture and I think you did a great job of explaining what it means and represents. Including quotes from Tiffaney Gardea and Veronica Bustamante really illustrates what you are writing about. I just have a few more questions about the clubs that were involved in this wonderful celebration. What is La Raza Club? Do you have any pictures of the art that was featured at this event? What do you think about this holiday? Another suggestion would be to include what some of the students thought about the mariachi at lunch or what they liked about the gallery. These quotes would be very strong in your article and give it a student’s perspective. I am very interested in these questions and your writing in the future. Overall this article was very sweet and representative of art and the Hispanic culture; talking about museum studies, La Raza Club events, background of the celebration, and the ofrenda in the office. Thank you for introducing me to these clubs.