On the Eve of Autumnal Equinox

So much has transpired during this season of rapid growth. Two major exhibitions, a five year strategic plan, a public art launch, and a long distance kiss in Zurich. It's been tough to keep up with documenting and reporting when there is so much on the go these days.

Still, and always, we do our best to keep going, trying new things, and returning to support the initiatives that have impact. 

If you haven't already, please swing by to see GATHER in Toronto, now extended through November 28th. Next Saturday we're welcoming a group of premiere lacrosse experts to chat a bit about the history,  meaning and connections of the ballgame. Noon to 2 pm at Market Gallery, 95 Front St E, 2nd floor. Registration is free.

On Sunday, I'll be hosting a creative Culture Days workshop in Oakville at the Queen Elizabeth Park Cultural and Community Centre [2302 Bridge Road] from noon to 2 pm. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Tara Chadwick 786.671.8272

Oakville, Canada  [September 21, 2026] -  Papalotl Project will join communities across the country in We Want More History!, a nationwide celebration of history programming focused on the weekend of September 25–27, 2026.

On Sunday, September 27, Papalotl Project will host a public program that invites community members to investigate human impacts on historical biodiversity and actions we can take to support mitigating effects of the anthropocene. The event is at Queen Elizabeth Park Cultural and Community Centre from noon to 2 pm.

In addition to Ontario Culture Days, the program is also part of We Want More History!, a coordinated, national celebration of history programming designed to strengthen civic health, build community trust, foster democratic dialogue, and showcase the essential role of history in public life. At a time of heightened public interest in how American history is interpreted, this program supports trusted public institutions where people already gather to learn, reflect, and engage. Timed to coincide with National Public Lands Day, We Want More History! will feature libraries, parks, museums, historic sites, schools, and community organizations across the country hosting talks, exhibits, walking tours, community conversations, film screenings, storytelling events, hikes, paddles, and other programs that connect people with the stories of the places they call home.

"We founded #PapalotlProject more than a decade ago to engage communities with inspiring, educational experiences. Out of a lifetime of researching, educating, presenting and evaluating, Papalotl Project is sparking a new era in building community. Grounded in history, science, nature, and rhythm, this participatory presentation includes multigenerational audiences in creating unique time and site specific engagements." said Tara Chadwick, AHA member, and founder of Papalotl Project.

Community members of all ages and abilities are encouraged to attend. Admission is free and registration is not required.

For more information, visit www.instagram.com/papalotlproject or contact Tara Chadwick at 786-671-8272.

About Papalotl Project

Papalotl Project brings people together to share traditional knowledge through art, storytelling, music and dance. 

Tara Chadwick and her family share elements of their Mesoamerican cultural heritage, creating safe spaces and a model for neighbors to exchange knowledge-filled stories from their own historical and lived experiences. 

Each presentation includes a central element honoring those who came before,  acknowledging the role of Indigenous People in ensuring the long term wellness of ecosystems that today comprise the cities, forests, parks and agricultural lands across our continent.

About We Want More History!

We Want More History! is a nationwide celebration of history focused on the weekend of September 25–27, 2026. The initiative brings together libraries, parks, museums, historic sites, schools, and community organizations to create opportunities for people to explore the stories of the places they call home. It is organized by the American Historical Association, Organization for American Historians, American Library Association, Urban Libraries Council, American Association for State and Local History, Association for Rural and Small Libraries, Association for the Study of African American Life and History, National Council for the Social Studies, National Council on Public History, Explore Kentucky, and Yale University's Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition.

Summer Solstice 2026

Finally a few moments to reflect on my second ever Indigenous Peoples Day... 

Last year, June 21 was a home coming, seeing friends and family I've missed over these past three decades. Thirty years ago this month, I set out to spend some time with my mother's relatives, and learn more about this maternal homeland. I'd missed Canada's first Indigenous Peoples Day and the expanding national dialogue and prioritization that came after. The world, including Toronto, has learned so much these past few decades, about Indigeneity, respect, and reconciliation. Court cases generations long finally concluded, clarifying the relationship between Canada, Canadians, and the living generation of Indigenous People who have been placed here to care for and protect this continent since the beginning of time. 

Through all the changes, big and small, the documentation of history continues in legislation, academia, industry, and art. Of all the forms, I find art most engaging, memorable and impactful. 

So it is that the annual Pow Wow and Festival at Fort York, has continued, in varous iterations, since its inception in the early 2000s. 

On this (my second ever) Indigenous Peoples Day, I find myself in awe and wonder that so many Toronto residents and visitors have the interest and motivation to be present, active and join these events, whether a workshop, performance, or artist talk.

My hope is that we can carve space to fully realize both the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People enacted on this Day (June 21, 2021) as well as the 94 Calls to Action that our late great Honourable Murray Sinclair left as our first set of homework. 

It is within this context that we see what we each can contribute to the greater good, while ensuring space sharing and a multiplicy of voices carry the essence of all our creation stories into the future we make by walking the path together.

June 21, 2026

Sky and Bone: Realities Unbound, now open

Yesterday, Toronto History Museums opened one final exhibition in the "HOME in Toronto" series. Sky & Bone: Realities Unbound gives voice to the importance of home from both a physical and spiritual perspective.

Through the juxtaposition of historic and contemporary works from a variety of media and a diverse roster of Toronto based artists, Sky & Bone guides us to the realization that the places where home truly exists is within the spaces between.

This was my first time working with Jesse King, Curator at City of Toronto's Market Gallery and our brilliant Curatorial and Collections team. This project is building awareness of City of Toronto's Art and Artifact Collection and impacting the arts and culture economy across the city and beyond.

The meaningfulness, care, colours and intentionality of the exhibition were noted by visitors at the opening, attended by over two hundred.

Visits can be arranged by appointment or by dropping in Wednesdays to Saturdays noon to 6 pm. There will be opportunities to gather at Sky and Bone this winter for collaborative activities and special programs including beading, artist talks and a film screening. Please sign up for the Toronto History Museums monthly newsletter for detailed information on upcoming programs. Group visits and tours are always welcome and must be pre-booked. You can find details at toronto.ca/museums.

Grateful to these two for appearing!

Transcending HOME

On my third day here, we opened a new exhibition the team had been working on, "At Home in Toronto." It's on now at The Market Gallery, 95 Front Street, 2nd Floor of St. Lawrence Market. So many memories and so many community members! This exhibition begins a concerted effort to reverse the concept of a museum from collector repository to collaborating consultant. 

'At Home in Toronto' provides space within the City for the community to share treasures, stories, languages and culture... to build our collective knowledge base around identifying, protecting, preserving and managing art and artifacts as well as intangible heritage, both with and outside of traditional museum settings. 

The vast majority of the material culture held within the City of Toronto is not in our million artifact collection but rather in the homes, hearts and hearths of residents, families and non-museum cultural and community groups. 

How we identify, exchange and work with these sacred and secular items, be they concepts, dances, songs, stories, memory sticks, scrapbooks or silver, is defined within and between each family, group or individual. We respect each other's choices about how much, when or whether to share. 

We are still in the process of becoming, individually, and together, and in the process, learning about what respect and relative mean. 

If you're here with us, swing by and chat, we'd love to hear more about how you create 'Home.' 

We'll be waiting to welcome you. 

❤️

Art as ceremony

This week I was invited to a play. I used to go to plays fairly often, especially at this time of year, with my grandparents. And normally I prefer going to afternoon matinees, but this particular opportunity was special. I had already been urged to go see at least one in this series of three by a time travelling artist grandmother. And, sure enough, the opportunity came when invited by a dear friend and former neighbour.

Now the thing I did not realize, is that this was no ordinary journey.

This play experience went far beyond the expectations of audience participation. No, this was a calling in, a new beginning, the opening of a channel into the timelessness of the multiverse. 

I already knew this would be an amazing show. What I did not anticipate was the expert facilitation of performance as ceremony. Not only were we as audience members engaged in an active experiencing of this epic intergenerational journey, we were also the participants in a multidimensional healing ceremony, all at once called on as healers and those being healed. 

It was a masterful recounting of historical events and the impacts they have on a deeply personal level affecting millions throughout the global diaspora. 

This play was far more than theatre. The experience was the beginning of a new understanding of the depth with which art truly heals communities. 

#SankofaTrilogy

A Summer of Reflections

It's been three months since the start of a new chapter in this journey, retracing my steps to the easternmost lake where I was born, to serve the City of Toronto as Chief Curator. 

There are a myriad of culture, arts, sports, tech, academic and music events around the GTA all year, from Sounds of Greektown to the Dragon Festival to Toronto International Film Festival, definitely something for every one of our three million residents. 

The many museums, galleries and cultural centres shine with new exhibitions, new acquisitions and fresh perspectives. Something is always happening at our ten Toronto History Museums, whether it's bread baking at Montgomery's Inn on Wednesday afternoons, scones and jam September Saturdays and Sundays at Scarborough Museum, merch shopping and musket demonstrations at Fort York National Historic Site or the fall festival at Spadina House September 28 across from Casa Loma. https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/history-art-culture/museums/

The Canadian Museum of Architecture partnered with the City to host a month long exhibition at Old City Hall. It's free and open to the public, with viewing hours by appointment. https://cmarch.ca/exhibits/.

As summer gently melts into autumn, core memories emerge as I walk street trails and shorelines, reconnecting with friends and family, regaining my rhythm of this regional cycle of rapid growth, ripening, seed production and rest. 

This month also marks the completion of year one into my new life stage... it truly is a whole new level of learning. In many ways I feel like a teenager again,  unfamiliar, uncertain, but bursting with anticipation for what hope we can inspire in each other through the decisions we make and actions we take. 

Thank you to the many who are  supporting me in this unexpected journey. It is just what I needed to set a course for the next 50...

Museums are for sharing time with loved ones

This International Museums Day I'm reflecting on my memories of spending time with loved ones in and around museums. 

From the ROM to Vizcaya to the Science Museum of Minnesota, my life has been filled with museum fun!

There are all sorts of new research reports about the importance of art and culture in building healthy communities. For me museums are are a place where I can connect with my self, my family, my community and the world around me both near and far across the continuum of time and space. 

A museum visit provides a variation in my daily routine, learn something new, or see something from a different perspective. 

Most museums offer specialized programming, educational experiences and art activities throughout the year in addition to their permanent facilities and collections. 

Whenever you can, make a visit - virtual and in person - to your local museum. Support them by leaving a review, writing an op-ed, becoming a committee member, donor or volunteer. More than ever museums are beginning to understand they belong to you - their communities. We can help them by sharing our views on how we can grow, improve, and help strengthen each other together. 

Happy International Museums Day!

Tara Chadwick

5.18.25