ABOUT
Proyecto Dracula is an ideas center housed in a historic 1800’s warehouse Castilla de Dracula in Todos Santos, Mexico. We promote participatory art, experiences, community, and collective creativity.
Our community- local and international scientists, writers, healers. entrepreneurs, designers, farmers, makers, environmentalists, musicians, techies, surfers, and astronomers- focus on disparate ideas and diverse perspectives to comment on our times and propose solutions. Conceptual and abstract thinking are explored as a means for personal and social change.
Proyecto Dracula launched in March 2022 with the Happening “Universe, Multiverse, and Verse” Joyful proposals were presented and inhabited including Cosmic Sonica quantum stargazing accompanied by high powered Uninsteller telescope, a poet, and a psychedelic rock band in an empty swimming pool by the beach, an interactive screening by Oscar nominated filmmaker Lucy Walker, and a site-specific installation relating Mars and ancient Baja cave drawings by SETI institute artist Charles Lindsay. Ongoing seasonal programming includes the creation of an in-house museum, workshops, exhibitions, gatherings, and conceptual dinner parties.
Our next Happening will take place from Feb 22-26, 2023.
Our mission is to nurture a creative movement focused on technology, cosmology, and mythology. To move the progressive narrative out of the dogmatic and into something smart and playful. In the lineage ofSurrealism, Dada, Happenings and Fluxus— which harnessed humor and the nonlinear to chip away at the status quo-- our uniquely contemporary movement is made up of an array of forward thinkers gathered in the wide-open space of our desert laboratory.
Castilla de Dracula, our headquarters with several guest rooms, galleries, and courtyards, was affectionately named by the people of Todos Santos decades ago because of its gothic architecture and because it’s said to be haunted. The castle gates are now open to the town and the world.
About Todos Santos, Mexico
Todos Santos is a desert oasis in the foothills the Sierra de la Laguna mountains by the Pacific Ocean of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. The small town, originally inhabited by the Pericu tribe, is known for its fertile farmlands, abundant surf, and a vibrant arts scene.
About Castillo de Dracula
Dracula was built as a sugar warehouse in the mid 1800’s when Todos Santos was an agricultural center producing sugar cane. When the oasis dried up, Dracula was repurposed as a primary school. It was then abandoned for several decades until the 1980’s when a group of American artists purchased it, including Susan Atkinson and Gordon Chaplin. In 2021 Gordon’s two daughters, Diana and Julia Chaplin, and Susan’s daughter Page Sciotto, bought the property from the original group. They began restoring the property to its original glory and started a new chapter in its illustrious history with the launch of Proyecto Dracula.
About Julia Chaplin, Proyecto Dracula Founder
Julia grew up coming to Castillo de Dracula with her family and dreamed up the idea for Proyecto Dracula after running an experimental salon at the property during the pandemic. Based in New York City, Julia has worked as an editor at magazines (Harper’s Bazaar, ELLE) and covered art and culture as a journalist (The New York Times. Conde Nast Traveler, and Vogue.) She created Gypset, a lifestyle brand, with the publication of the Gypset book series (Assouline) More recently she wrote the Boho Manifesto (Artisan) and has been developing hospitality concepts.
