Day of the Dead/The City of Miracles
Dia de los Muertos/Ciudad de los Milagros

October 11–November 3, 2001
Artist Reception: October 13, 6-9PM
Day of the Dead Celebration: November 2, 8-10pm
with a live broadcast by "La Onda Bajita," KPFA 94.1FM
Exhibition Hours: 12pm - 4pm Tues- Sun

For this year's Day of the Dead, SomArts dramatic "City of Miracles" installation creates an evocative site to frame the miracle of life, the mystery of death and the work of over fifty artists.

Housed in a translucent city over fifty artists from the Bay Area will exhibit unique altars, installations, flat work, digital art, video, signage, light based and projected media for this annual installation. The art works will respond to the installation, its scale and materials, evoking a play with light, shadow, substance and illusion.

SomArts Cultural Center Curator Rene Yanez has commissioned artist/designer Lalo Cervantes, architect Nick Gomez and designer Wil Hsien to conceptualize and design a unique installation that responds to this year's Day of the Dead theme: Miracles.

City of Miracles/Ciudad de los Milagros is a permeable translucent city. The block long installation of architecturally scaled buildings and structures will be made of translucent scrim and framing with elevations from eight to forty feet. Housed in the cavernous SomArts Cultural Center, this luminous city will be composed of large building masses, narrow winding streets with individual and artist's dwellings, storefronts, a museum, a library of artists' books, a working schoolhouse to accommodate students attending the exhibit, a hospital with interactive components, and a church.