A towering public altar for Día de Muertos opened in Manhattan's Flatiron North Plaza on October 26, six days before the festival begins. Titled Twenty Petal Flower, the installation takes the form of enlarged marigolds arranged in tiers, creating a communal ofrenda where anyone can place offerings, candles, gifts, and mementos for people they have lost. It will remain in place through November 3.

The work was designed by artisans from Mestiz Studio in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, in partnership with Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn. Its title draws on the words for the Mexican marigold in Nahuatl and Spanish, cempasúchil, a flower traditionally believed to guide the souls of the dead back to their families each year. By scaling the blooms up to architectural size, the designers turned a familiar ritual object into a landmark that can be seen from across the plaza.

The project's creative director has described the altar as a tribute not only to the dead but also to the people behind the flower's journey, from the growers who cultivate marigolds to the artisans who weave them into the structure. That emphasis on labour and craft gives the installation a second layer: it honours both personal grief and the collective work that sustains the tradition.

Public ofrendas have become a visible part of Día de Muertos celebrations in the United States, and the Flatiron installation follows that pattern by making participation the point. Visitors are not asked simply to look; they are invited to add something of their own, so the altar grows denser and more personal as the festival approaches.