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Border Crossings: This and Other Worlds (November 2–4), a three-day series of programs, performances, and installations that takes inspiration from global practices of honoring those who are no longer with us—e.g., El Dia de Los Muertos (the Mexican “Day of the Dead”); the Buddhist and Taoist “Ghost Festival” of Zhong Yuan Jie; the Christian holiday of All Souls Day; and Qingming or “Tomb Sweeping Day,” a traditional Chinese celebration. The centerpiece of Border Crossings is an altar designed for the community by artist Adrian Viajero Roman, a long time Sunset Park resident. His inspiration is the El Dia de Los Muertos altars created to honor the dead throughout Mexico and the Mexican diaspora. With many free events, Border Crossings is a weekend of celebration, reflection, and commemoration.

Co-presented by Bard Graduate Center and The Green-Wood Cemetery, Border Crossings is part of a series of public programs designed to complement our current exhibition Agents of Faith: Votive Objects in Time and Place. We welcome participants of all backgrounds and religious beliefs.

November 2-4
Green-Wood Cemetery
525th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11232


 

Schedule


The programs listed below will take place in Green-Wood’s Modern Chapel. Please ask security at the Gothic Arch for where to go.

Friday, November 2

7:00 PM
$15 / $10 for members of Green-Wood with RSVP
Making an Exit: From the Magnificent to the Macabre

8:00 PM
Free with RSVP
Blessing the Altar with Indigenous Music and Songs of Central America:Cetilizti Nauchampa Quetzacoalt In Ixachiltlan

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Saturday, November 3

3:30–5:00 PM
Free with RSVP
Cremation: History and Modern Process

5:00–6:30 PM
Free with RSVP
Crossing Borders: Displacement and Transcendence

7:00–7:30 PM
Free with RSVP
Artist Talk

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Sunday, November 4

2:30–4:00 PM
Free with RSVP
On Borders, Human Lives and Poetry

3:00–5:00 PM
Free Drop ins Welcome with RSVP
Make Your Own Nicho

5:00–6:30 PM
Free with RSVP
Closing Celebration

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About the Altar

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Adrian Viajero Roman’s altar commemorates loved ones who have crossed the border from life to death. In particular, his Puerto Rican compatriots who died during Hurricane Maria in 2017 and those who lost their lives while crossing a border between Mexico and the United States. All visitors are invited to bring personal offerings to the altar. Flowers, photographs, notes, and/or other objects are welcome. (Please note that offerings left at the altar cannot be returned.)

Roman’s work is informed by race, migration and identity. He explores both the history and personal memory of the two disparate worlds he inhabits: the tropical landscape of Puerto Rico and the overpopulated cityscape of New York. Viajero’s practice combines drawing, painting and sculpture within installations of objects that range from salvaged wood and window frames to historic artifacts and vintage photographs. He is interested in the continuum of time and in how art can work to bring personal histories forward to the present.

On View in the Gallery
Agents of Faith: Votive Objects in Time and Place
September 14, 2018 – January 6, 2019 Learn More Button
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Ex Voto New York: Votive Sites in the Five Boroughs, A Digital Map
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