Visitors filled the Ulrich Museum of Art and the McKnight Art Center on Saturday, Nov. 15 for artist Justin Favela’s “Family Fiesta,” a closing celebration that marked the end of the artist’s largest exhibition.
Favela, surrounded by relatives who traveled from Las Vegas for the event, said the Wichita crowd made the farewell feel less like an exhibition closing and more like a community gathering.
“I’d never really been to this part of Kansas before, so today’s turnout was awesome,” he said. “It was great to find a community where people really show up.”
The fiesta, which ran from 3- 5 p.m., invited visitors of all ages to dance to DJ Ash Aranda, try traditional Mexican food from Las Delicias and build their own miniature piñatas. Wichita East High School students handed out aguas frescas.
Favela’s installation, “Everything Must Go: Justin Favela’s Closeout Blowout Re-Grand Opening,” surrounded guests with a dreamscape of piñatas that represent exhibitions across his 15-year career.
Each piece was handmade by piñata artisans from cities along the route between Las Vegas and Wichita, a project Favela undertook as a way to honor community labor and the collaborative nature of his work.
For his family, that community energy was unmistakable.
“The event actually exceeded any of our expectations,” said Favela’s cousin Jessenia Paz. “We’ve done this in a lot of different places, but this one was really special because people here were so ready to connect and understand the work beyond the surface.”
Paz said what made Wichita stand out was the openness she felt from visitors who lingered, asked questions and treated the exhibition as more than a spectacle of vibrant colors.
“What made this one stand out was how open everyone was — they really showed up for him, for the art and for the message behind it,” she said.
That message, Paz explained, has always been tied to how Favela has navigated stereotypes in the art world. Institutions often assumed he celebrated certain traditions or fit certain identities without ever asking him.
“Rather than asking him what he actually celebrates or what he’s about, they’d just label him: ‘Oh, you do Day of the Dead, right? You do fiestas, right?’” Paz said. “And that’s not our culture.”
The Ulrich event, she said, allowed visitors to understand the complexities behind Favela’s work, which blends humor, critique and personal history.
“This exhibition explains how, from the very beginning, Justin had to meet other people’s expectations just to get his foot in the door,” she said. “He was boxed in as a ‘Latine artist’ instead of being seen as an individual.”
That individuality is what brought Aileen Wang, the new associate curator at Kansas State University’s Beach Museum of Art, to Wichita for the event.
“I came here from Manhattan. I wanted to meet Justin,” Wang said. “We had a staff field trip to see his exhibition, and I just loved it.”
As the event went on, children lined up to swing at the hanging piñatas as the adults cheered them on. The music and sounds of cracking papier mâché echoed across both floors of McKnight.
“It was so cool to see people from all walks of life – families, students, kids — all in the same space, just celebrating together,” Paz said. “That’s exactly the point.”
For Favela, who will step away from making large-scale installations for a while, the day felt like the right moment to pause. “I love the community here in Wichita,” he said. “Museums can feel so stuffy, but this felt like a place to party and interact with people in a fun way.”
The final piñata was broken, and visitors scooped up candy alongside Favela’s family — a last burst of color, laughter and shared experience to send the artist into his sabbatical.
“It lets everyone sit with his message a little longer,” Paz said.
