Pathways of Past Lives: The Persistence of Existence Art Exhibition

Pathways of Past Lives: The Persistence of Existence opens at Crown Hill Memorial Park and Mausoleum on Saturday, October 17, as part of the Hughes Family Tribute Center's 12th annual Celebración del Día de Muertos. The exhibition runs through Monday, November 2, on select days, and it's free to enter. It takes the traditions of the holiday—life, death, memory, and rebirth—and looks at them through contemporary art.

Artist Art Garcia curated the show, and the center of it is Los caminos de las vidas pasadas: la persistencia de la existencia, a piece by Dallas painter and sculptor Josh Niccolai-Belfi. He didn't work alone: dancers and choreographers Favian Herrera and Fabiola Sanchez and acoustic musician Noe Garcia were part of the process. The installation is built around a sculptural aluminum altar that works as both a piece of art and a performance space, with the dancers wearing original masks Niccolai-Belfi made. Regional artists round out the rest of the exhibition.

Niccolai-Belfi is a native of Oak Cliff's Bishop Arts district, and when he isn't painting or sculpting, he works as a fine art conservator and metal fabricator at Van Enter Studio. The venue itself is part of the experience: the historic Art Deco-style mausoleum at Crown Hill is a City of Dallas Historic Landmark.

If you want to see the performance side of things, the grand opening on Saturday, October 17, runs from 6 PM to 8 PM, with a musical and theatrical performance at 6:30 PM and a theatrical reading commissioned by Teatro Dallas. After that, the exhibition is open on select days: Sunday, October 18; Saturday, October 24; Sunday, October 25; Saturday, October 31; and Sunday, November 1, from 1 PM to 4 PM. On the final day, Monday, November 2, the art is on view from 10 AM to 8 PM, with performances starting at 5:30 PM. Admission is free throughout.