Día de los Muertos: A Celebration of Remembrance at Regis

For alumna and artist Emily Kobayashi Woods, the essence of remembrance is integral to her artwork. Woods’ artwork forces the viewer to recognize and remember individuals as people, confronted quite literally face to face with the subject of each piece.

Woods, who received her undergraduate degree in Visual Art with an emphasis in education from Regis University in 2021, and her master’s in K–12 Art Education from the University of Florida in 2025, currently teaches as a visual arts teacher at a Title I alternative school in Colorado. Her work is on display at Dayton Memorial Library as part of the Día de los Muertos: A Celebration of Remembrance exhibition.

The exhibit is part of larger celebrations across Regis University focused on the annual tradition of Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. The exhibition features the work of both alumni and current students, sharing remembrance across different heritages and cultural backgrounds. As a Hispanic Serving Institution, Regis recognizes the cultural diversity of each student, creating a moment for all to share in the season and inviting others to listen and remember those we have lost.

The artworks Woods provided for the exhibition feature the faces of those whose stories are pulled straight from the headlines. These pieces reflect the changing laws and legislation that coil around violence in the United States, including Americans who died from brutalization by the police or were otherwise persecuted and killed because of their identities. While Woods did not grow up culturally with the Día de los Muertos tradition, she draws from drawing from celebratory and bright visual aesthetics to create these memorial pieces.

“A lot of my art is about tragedy that happens in America, but these people are more than these headlines.” Woods explained, “Showing their humanity and seeing their faces again helps us remember not just the tragedy, but reminds us to check in on our communities.”

The Regis community is invited and encouraged to visit the exhibition, organized by Regis fine arts professor and working artist Tony Ortega, M.A., on view at the Dayton Memorial Library at Regis University through Nov. 9.

"The exhibition brings together alumni artists, students, faculty and the Regis community to explore a tradition deeply rooted in Mexican and Mexican American culture,” said Ortega.  “At its heart, Día de los Muertos is about remembering the people who came before us and recognizing that their stories, values and presence continue to shape who we are.”

Artist and alumnus Angel Estrada shares his perspective as a third-generation Mexican American in the exhibition. Estrada received his undergraduate degree in visual arts and education, with an emphasis in printmaking, from Regis in 2015, and has been a public high school visual arts teacher and working artist with active studio space at the Globeville Riverfront Arts Center (GRACe) since.

Estrada’s inclusion in the exhibition is a series of prints featuring a small skeleton on a journey through the land of the dead, known as Mictlān in Nahuatl. Estrada described how his experience growing up with Día de los Muertos has also been shaped by his American identity. In this series of prints, the skeleton figure serves as an avatar for himself, exploring his identity and roots as a Mexican American through a dreamlike lens. For Estrada, sharing the memory and tradition of Día de los Muertos, particularly with the diverse Regis community, is integral to the exhibition.

“What I love about Regis is that there are going to be a lot of people who may not have encountered this death tradition,” said Estrada. “It's a great opportunity for people to experience what Day of the Dead looks like from many different generations and many different traditions."

Exploring Día de los Muertos through artwork crafts a creative and open space for dialogue surrounding tradition, social justice and memory. Students, alumni, faculty and community all participate in this dialogue as they view and experience the exhibition.

Professor Ortega also brings together a community of artists that he has mentored back to Regis. Which, in itself, is a celebration of the memory of Regis’ traditions and intercultural dialogue.

“I hope the exhibition gives students and visitors an opportunity to experience the tradition through a contemporary lens while also understanding its deeper cultural significance.” Ortega continued, “For me, this is an especially meaningful opportunity to bring together my work as an artist, educator and member of the Regis community.”

Día de los Muertos: A Celebration of Remembrance is now on display at Regis University’s Dayton Memorial Library from now until Nov. 9. Visiting hours in the library are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Attend the upcoming Art Exhibition and Artist Reception from 4-7 p.m. on Nov. 5 in the Dayton Memorial Library Fireplace Lounge.

To learn more about Día de los Muertos events at Regis, visit https://www.regis.edu/signature-events/dia-de-los-muertos.