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Being afraid of death is a common reaction for many people but the new exhibit at the Nave Museum is focused on embracing death.

“El Día de los Muertos” exhibit opens to the public on Friday and will feature works by artist Kathy Vargas and a collection of altars dedicated to ancestors created by museum members, director Denise Roussel said.

“This exhibit reflects the feeling that death is not something to be afraid of; death is a part of life,” she said. “It’s honoring the loved ones that have gone before us.”

El Día de los Muertos is a popular celebration in Mexico that combines the traditions of the Aztecs with the European tradition of All Soul’s Day, Roussel added.

In the front gallery, Vargas’ “Este Recuerdo” exhibit is on display. A re-photographing of images of her immediate family, all of who are no longer living, Vargas used a technique known as hand-colored gelatin silver print. According to a museum news release, Vargas wanted to re-contextualize these family photographs within the textures of gravestone, earth and heart to denote that were beloved. She also placed them at a physical distance, within frames and behind veils, since she can no longer physically touch them.

An associate professor and chair of the Art Department at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Vargas’ work has been exhibited throughout Texas and internationally in countries such as Rome and Mexico.

In the back gallery, the exhibit “Altars to our Ancestors” will be on display and features the altars built by museum members such as John Moraida, Eva Cavazos and Shreepad Joglekar.

“There is combination of traditional and non-traditional altars,” Roussel said. “I told them to feel free to go outside the box.”

Joglekar took that advice to heart with his altar “Black and White Darkroom,” which honors the memory of practice in photography that is no longer used. Moraida went the more traditional route with his altar that honors five of his deceased family members, including all of his grandparents.