Lizzie Coombes
ALL THAT LIVES
A Day of the Dead celebration and wake to the Grief Series
In the lead up to the celebration Ellie is establishing links between artists and communities in Yorkshire and Mexico City. In collaboration with The Faro De Oriente, Mexico City we are building community shrines called Ofrendas.
To celebrate ‘Day of the Dead’ in Mexico, people build ‘Ofrendas’ to remember friends, family and people of significance. Ofrendas are brightly coloured displays including tables filled with photographs, flowers, candles, food and significant objects. They are a central part of celebrating those we have loved and lost, from close family to our heroes from music or sport. We have been gifted a ‘mobile Ofrenda kit’ hand made by artists at The Faro De Oriente to use with communities in Yorkshire. Through this project we are creating new remembrance rituals in the UK and considering how cultures might mingle to create an aesthetic that is the ‘art baby’ of the two cultures.
The exchange project began In Autumn 2017 when Ellie took a team of six Yorkshire artists to Mexico City to experience Day Of The Dead and form collaborations. We then held an international conference on death and remembrance at Live Art Bistro in Leeds in Spring 2018 with a keynote presentation by Mexican Film Maker Vlady Diaz, Ethnographer Dr. Anni Raw and Ellie Harrison. This initial exchange forms the foundation of our ongoing collaboration with artists in Mexico. You can see all the photographs on our Facebook page.
Most Recently in November 2020 we made Leeds City Ofrenda which you can see the full details of here
Ellie Harrison
Jess Sweet
Anna Turzynski
Vlady Diaz
Dr Anni Raw
Marco Medina
Laura Pirez
Zion Art Studios Collective include:
Magnolia González Garcia
Jonathan Perez Ramirez
Christian Cruz Hernandez
Alejandro Pacheco
If you are interested in booking an Ofrenda installation/ workshop or being invovled in our final Day of The Dead celebration please get in touch on our Contact page.
All That Lives is supported by Arts Council England, The British Council, Leeds Beckett, Theatre in The Mill, Leeds International Festival and Leeds 2023
Images by Lizzie Coombes
