The National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago will mark the 40th annual edition of its Día de Muertos exhibition with ‘Where Memory Lives: 40 Years of Día de Muertos,’ opening September 25 in the museum’s Main Gallery. The exhibition will draw on the institution’s Permanent Collection to examine the changing forms of Day of the Dead celebrations while tracing the history of the museum itself. It will remain on view through November 29, 2026.
Founded in 1982, the museum is located at 1852 West 19th Street in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. Its mission is to represent the Mexican community from its own point of view and in its own voice, presenting Mexican cultural expression across periods, media and geographic contexts. Admission is always free, with the museum open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The exhibition takes its title from the relationship between remembrance and the museum’s collecting work. The institution describes Day of the Dead as a tradition rooted in ancient Mesoamerican beliefs and Catholicism that has developed differently across Mexico’s regions. Families in Mexico, the United States and elsewhere traditionally gather on November 1 and 2 to welcome the souls and memories of loved ones.
‘Where Memory Lives’ will honor Dr. Gilberto Cárdenas, who died in 2026. The museum identifies Cárdenas as a scholar and pioneer of Chicano Studies whose vision contributed to its Permanent Collection. The exhibition’s presentation connects his commitment to the histories and voices of Mexican, Chicana/o and Latinx communities in the United States with the museum’s continuing work of preserving those histories through art.
The exhibition is curated by Dolores Mercado, Elisa Soto Sánchez and Cesáreo Moreno. Its participating artists include Josefina Aguilar, Mary J. Andrade, Leonora Carrington, Carmen Lomas Garza, José Guadalupe Posada, Patssi Valdez and Alfredo Zalce, among many others. The museum’s featured work is Zalce’s ‘Descanso (Resting)’ (1979), an etching and aquatint from the Permanent Collection, given by the artist. The broader list includes artists working in and beyond Mexico, as well as artists associated with Mexican and Latinx communities in the United States.
A related installation in the museum’s Courtyard will be designed and curated by youth artists from Yollocalli Arts Reach. The space will include original installations inspired by Day of the Dead traditions and a community ofrenda, where visitors can add a note, drawing or memory in honor of someone they have lost. The installation and ofrendas will include contributions from artists and groups including Miguel A. Del Real, Demetrio García Aguilar, Familia Ricardo Linares, David Rios, CHema Skandal!, the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame, and Robert Valadez and Gregorio Gómez.
An opening reception is scheduled for September 25 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the museum. The exhibition will be presented alongside the institution’s wider permanent-collection displays, including the ongoing ‘Nuestras Historias: Stories of Mexican Identity from the Permanent Collection,’ at the Pilsen museum through November 29, 2026.
