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Mestiz and artist Daniel Valero have installed Twenty Petal Flower, a seven-tier public altar made with Brooklyn’s Powerhouse Arts, in Manhattan’s Flatiron North Plaza. The work is on view through Nov. 3, 2026, and invites visitors to leave mementos honoring people who have died.
Mestiz and artist Daniel Valero have installed Twenty Petal Flower, a seven-tier Día de Muertos altar, in Flatiron North Plaza in Manhattan. Created with Brooklyn-based Powerhouse Arts and commissioned by the Flatiron NoMad Partnership, the public artwork is on view through Nov. 3, 2026, and invites visitors to leave mementos honoring loved ones who have died.
The altar reimagines the traditional ofrenda as an open gathering place in a busy city plaza. Its large, rounded floral forms are woven primarily from wicker and arranged across seven tiers, with warm, candle-like lighting. The design draws on cempasúchil, the marigold associated with Día de Muertos and commonly used in offerings and floral arrangements.
Mestiz’s team made the woven elements at its fiber workshop in Tequisquiapan, Mexico. Powerhouse Arts collaborated on the supporting structure, developing a slim-profile steel frame intended to hold the flowers outdoors without visually competing with them. Director of public art Brittni Collins said the frame was color-matched to the orange flowers, which were attached with stainless-steel zip ties designed to withstand wind and weather.
The partners also developed a modular framework that can be disassembled, stored and installed again for future celebrations, rather than treating the work as a single-use structure. The Flatiron NoMad Partnership commissioned the project for Flatiron North Plaza, where visitors can approach the altar and leave their own remembrances during its public display.
A Public Place for Remembrance
The project brings a tradition often observed at home or in community settings into a shared public space. Visitors can encounter the altar as part of their everyday movement through the neighborhood, pause to remember someone, and contribute a memento. That invitation makes the installation more than a visual display: it gives members of the public a role in how the ofrenda is used during its run.
The work also directs attention to the labor behind the flowers and the altar. Valero said he wanted to honor the people involved in growing cempasúchil and transforming it into offerings, alongside those being remembered. Its cross-border production links Mexican weaving and design with fabrication in Brooklyn, while giving New Yorkers an opportunity to learn about the tradition through an artwork they can approach and experience.
The installation’s planned reuse could also extend its life beyond this year’s observance. According to Collins, the modular system can be taken apart and stored for future celebrations. Whether and when it will be reinstalled has not been specified, but the design makes reuse possible.
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From Cempasúchil to City Plaza
The project’s title, Twenty Petal Flower, refers to cempōhualxōchitl, a Nahuatl word meaning “20-petal flower,” from which the Spanish name cempasúchil is derived. The installation traces the flower’s journey from fields in Michoacán, Mexico, to the artisans who make floral arrangements for Día de Muertos.
Valero’s design challenge was to translate the flower’s delicate, temporary qualities into a structure large enough for an outdoor plaza while retaining its handmade character. Mestiz produced the woven forms in Mexico, while Powerhouse Arts developed the frame in collaboration with the studio. The teams exchanged fabrication samples and color tests as they worked to keep the support discreet behind the woven flowers.
The Flatiron NoMad Partnership said the plaza’s open layout offered room for an immersive installation within the neighborhood’s ordinary activity. The altar is scheduled to remain there through Nov. 3, 2026; the source report does not give a separate opening date.
““This time, I wanted to honor the many hands behind the cempasúchil, from the people who grow it to those who transform it into an ofrenda.””
— Daniel Valero, artist and designer
Display Plans Beyond November 3
The confirmed public display period runs through Nov. 3, 2026. The source material does not specify the installation’s exact opening date, daily access hours, or whether visitors need to follow particular instructions when leaving offerings. It also does not say whether the altar will be reinstalled at this plaza or another location in a future year.
The project team says the structure can be disassembled, stored and reused, but that describes a capability rather than a confirmed future schedule. The source report also provides no attendance figures or details about how mementos left by visitors will be handled after the display ends.
Visit Before the Display Ends
Twenty Petal Flower remains on view at Flatiron North Plaza through Nov. 3, 2026. Visitors can approach the altar and are invited to leave mementos honoring people who have died. The source material does not list opening hours, access restrictions, or a separate public program schedule.
After the display period, the installation is expected to be capable of disassembly and storage under its modular design. Any future location, dates or plans for reuse have not been announced in the available information.
Key Questions
Where is Mestiz’s Día de Muertos altar?
Twenty Petal Flower is installed in Flatiron North Plaza in Manhattan’s Flatiron District.
How long will the altar be on view?
The public artwork is scheduled to remain on view through Nov. 3, 2026. The source report does not provide daily viewing hours.
Who created the installation?
Artist and designer Daniel Valero created it through his Mexico-based studio, Mestiz, in collaboration with Brooklyn-based Powerhouse Arts. The Flatiron NoMad Partnership commissioned the project.
Can visitors leave offerings at the altar?
Yes. Visitors are invited to approach the ofrenda and leave mementos honoring loved ones who have died. The available information does not explain how items will be managed after the display ends.
Will the altar return in future years?
Powerhouse Arts designed a modular structure that can be disassembled, stored and reinstalled. However, no future dates or locations for the installation have been announced.
Source: design-milk.com
