About Us
Proyecto Dracula is an international arts organization named for our our winter headquarters, a historic warehouse, Castillo de Dracula, in Todos Santos, Mexico. Our mission is to nurture a creative movement where art is experienced not observed.
We curate Portal Happenings— gatherings at select locations around the globe with site specific art installations, musical performances, impromptu theater, collaborative workshops, and quantum stargazing.
We invite artists, scientists, musicians environmentalists, healers, surfers, and philosophers to present inspiring ideas as a means for personal and social change. Visitors enter a portal and become part of the community ensemble and all aspects of the creation.
Welcome to our world….
Happenings
Proyecto Dracula curates and produces thematic Portal Happenings around the world as a means of cultural exchange and creative experimentation. The next Happening “Psychedelica” is Jan 30- Feb 2, 2025 in Todos Santos, Mexico. Programming will include a conceptual dinner party, the See Sea boat Voyage, Cosmic Sonica Stargazing, and the Portal Ball party with the premiere of “El VIaje” and musical performances, art installations, and DJ’s. .
“The Happenings are meant as an alternative to the static nature of art fairs and commerce-based presentations of art,” founder Julia Chaplin told Cool Hunter. “The point of our Happening is to luxuriate in the feeling of creativity, literally. All of our installations and performances are designed to be interactive and immersive. The audience’s physical and emotional participation is part of the creation.”
see the Projects/Events page for more info and recaps on our past happenings,,,
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 a new chapter in its illustrious history.
About Julia Chaplin, Proyecto Dracula Founder
Julia is a creator and cultural explorer fascinated with the fusion of reality and possibility. The idea for Proyecto Dracula came while running an experimental salon at the property during the pandemic. Julia began her career in New York City as a magazine editor and then 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) She has written several other books and consults on hospitality concepts. Her next book “Psychedelic Now” will be published by Assouline in March 2025.
Board of Advisors + Directors
Board of Advisors
Yves Behar, Sabrina Buell, Dimitri Falk, Tanya Selvaratnam, Leo Villareal, Yvonne Force Villareal
Board of Directors
Zach Bell, Martine Bury, Ernesto Kut, Charles Lindsay, Ben Pundole
Press
The New York Times Magazine
aHotelLife
Cool Hunting
