Día de los Muertos in Honolulu: Project 222 at Bishop Museum
Arte, cultura y comunidad—art, culture, and community.
Día de los Muertos in Honolulu brought artists, musicians, makers, families, and friends together on October 31, 2026, as Project 222 Foundation hosted its fourth celebration at Bishop Museum. Día de los Muertos IV & Halloween Fusion welcomed the community for an evening of creativity, cultural expression, and connection.
The celebration paired art and cultural expression with the playful energy of Halloween. Behind it was a meaningful purpose: supporting Hawaiʻi’s artisan community and creating opportunities for people to experience, share, and support creative work.
The Agency Collective was proud to contribute to that effort, supporting the connections and collaboration behind the celebration.
Dressed for the occasion—guests brought dramatic Halloween style to Project 222’s celebration and co Creatividad y tradición—creativity and tradition—as guests joined the costume festivities with Catri Marigold hues and intricate calavera-inspired makeup—guests brought creativity and festive spirit to
Día de los Muertos: Remembering Through Celebration
Día de los Muertos translates to “Day of the Dead.” Rooted in Indigenous Mexican traditions, it honors deceased relatives and loved ones through remembrance and offerings. Practices vary among communities, with flowers, candles, food, and meaningful objects helping express the continuing connection between families and those they have lost. UNESCO recognizes Mexico’s Indigenous festivity dedicated to the dead as an element of humanity’s intangible cultural heritage.
Although this event brought Día de los Muertos and Halloween festivities together, each carries its own meaning. Understanding the Mexican tradition adds depth to the imagery: the celebration makes room for memory, affection, and the stories passed between generations.
Con amor y memoria—with love and remembrance.
That sentiment offers a way to appreciate the evening beyond its costumes and color. Art, music, and gathering can help us share something of who we are and keep important connections alive.
Recognizing Project 222 Foundation
At the center of this gathering was Project 222 Foundation and its commitment to supporting Hawaiʻi’s artists and artisan community.
Creating an event like this takes sustained work: inviting participants, organizing programming, building partnerships, and bringing people together around a shared purpose. Project 222 gave that work a public home for the evening, connecting creative people with an audience that could discover and support them.
The Foundation’s celebration brought a range of artistic experiences into one gathering. Visitors could encounter visual art, explore makers’ work, enjoy performances, and spend time with the people behind those contributions.
We are grateful to Bill Yarian and the Project 222 team for their dedication to making this celebration possible and for inviting The Agency Collective to be part of it.
Art, Music, and Opportunities to Connect
The Galería de los Muertos—the event’s art gallery—and Mercado de los Muertos—its market—put creativity at the heart of the experience.
These spaces offered opportunities to look closely, ask questions, and discover the people behind the work. Supporting local artists begins with encounters like these: learning a name, hearing a story, finding a piece that speaks to you, and continuing to follow someone’s work after the event.
Music and dancing brought another dimension to the celebration, alongside food, costumes, and activities that welcomed different generations. Together, these elements created several ways to participate, whether guests came to explore the art, enjoy the entertainment, or share an evening with family and friends.
That variety reflected the strength of the gathering: many individual contributions coming together through Project 222’s vision.
A moment for reflection with Sparrow Muse Tarot, offering readings at Project 222’s Mercado de los M Live music filled the evening with rhythm, bringing guests together at Project 222’s celebration at Terra Memories brought creativity to the celebration through face painting, henna, and intricate des
The Stories Behind the Art
The artists’ own descriptions offer another way to understand the creative community connected through Project 222. Behind each piece is a different perspective, shaped by personal experience, cultural roots, and the desire to share something with others.
For oil painter Ana G. Sumpter, portraiture and figurative painting are ways to explore identity, care, transformation, and social justice. Drawing on her multicultural background, military service, motherhood, and faith, her practice considers vulnerability, resilience, and human connection. Her work invites viewers to look closely at experiences and contributions that can easily go unseen.
For Jossycat Face Art, that connection takes a different form. Mexican artist Leidy Josselin Crisanto Antonio, now based in Honolulu, describes face painting as an opportunity to share her culture through Catrinas, skulls, flowers, and Día de Muertos-inspired designs. Her application expressed a wish to bring a small piece of her traditions into the celebration—a reminder that the imagery carries personal and cultural meaning for the artists creating it.
Other contributors bring their histories into what they make and share. Sunkissed Juice Co. draws inspiration from its Mexican and Hawaiʻi roots through aguas frescas, Mexican bolis, and fresh-pressed juices. Senne Souki, a Hawaiʻi-based artist, moves between traditional painting, digital art, jewelry, and handmade objects, giving her creativity many forms.
Together, these stories reveal the value of a gathering like this: an opportunity to discover the people, experiences, and cultural connections behind the work.
The Connections That Help Creativity Grow
A gathering begins long before guests arrive. It grows through conversations, introductions, shared ideas, and people willing to contribute their time and talents.
For artists and small businesses, thoughtful marketing can help a story reach someone new. Vendor support can make participation feel more approachable, with clear communication and someone to turn to along the way. These quieter parts of an event help create the conditions for people to share their work with confidence.
This is where The Agency Collective finds meaning in collaborations like Project 222. We value the opportunity to listen, build relationships, and support the connections between an organization’s vision and the people who bring it to life.
Our approach begins with the community itself: what matters to its members, what makes their gathering distinctive, and where our support can be useful. For an event rooted in art and cultural expression, that means helping create room for the artists’ voices and Project 222’s purpose to lead.
Gracias, Project 222
Gracias—thank you—to Project 222 Foundation, its organizing team, and the artists, performers, vendors, sponsors, and volunteers who contributed to this year’s celebration.
Mahalo to everyone who attended, explored the artwork, supported a local business, or shared in the evening. Those individual acts of participation help give community events their meaning.
Connecting people. Celebrating culture. Supporting community.
We were proud to carry that commitment into our work with Project 222 and look forward to seeing its creative community continue to grow.Follow Project 222 Foundation on Instagram and Facebook to stay with its work and future gatherings.
Hosted by: Project 222 Foundation
Marketing & Event Support Sponsor: The Agency Collective
Meet the Artists and Vendors
Continue supporting the creative people and local businesses behind the celebration:
Ana G. Sumpter — Oil painting and figurative art exploring identity, care, and human connection. @anasumpterart
Bill Yarian / Project 222 — Photography. Connect through Project 222 Foundation.
Clay and Collage · Bernadette Chan — Functional ceramics, fused glass, and hand-dyed paper collage. @clayandcollage
Complete Healing Experience · Cab Spates — Bodywork and edible products. @optimysstique
Ija Prestera — Artist and cultural storyteller working across visual art, music, fashion, and community projects. @ijaprestera
Jossycat Face Art — Face painting inspired by Día de Muertos, including Catrinas, skulls, and floral designs. Find Jossycat Face Art on Facebook.
Lady Vega Tattoo · Dakota Ysidra Robinson — Mixed-media and printmaking work, including Day of the Dead art. @lady_vega808
Rhiannon McCullough — Original drawings, prints, and cards. @rhi.mccullough
Senne Souki — Original paintings, digital artwork, jewelry, and handmade goods. @sennesouki
Steph · Stephanie Herrera Loya — Face painting. @steph15_fanny
Sunbreaker Hawaii · Jessica Ringer — Handmade sterling silver and gold-filled jewelry. @sunbreaker.hawaii
Sunkissed Juice Co. — Aguas frescas, Mexican bolis, and fresh-pressed juices inspired by Mexican and Hawaiʻi roots. @sunkissedjuiceco
Tarot Reading / Sparrow Muse · Tara Trunfio — Tarot readings. @tara.trunfio
Terra Memories · Yoly Jon — Catrina face and body painting, henna, and beaded crafts. @yaya_facepaint_hawaii
The BlindArts · Lance H. Choe — Hand-drawn artwork exploring subjects from prehistoric animals to science fiction.
Taqueria El Ranchero — Authentic Mexican Food vendor for the celebration.
Have a cultural celebration, creative showcase, or community gathering in mind?
Connect with The Agency Collective to explore how we can support your vision.
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