Tara A. Chadwick
Tara Chadwick is an interdisciplinary traditional artist interested in developing and sharing her knowledge of the indigenous history of our region through transformative dance and visual art installations integrated with live sound, movement and spoken word.
Although Ms. Chadwick is most well known as a contemporary vocalist for her 10 year stint with the Neeconis Singers, she is also gaining notoriety for her work in visual art and as Mesoamerican Spark Dancer.
Tara is an artist in residence in the Sistrunk Corridor and Curator of Exhibitions at the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society. She has received widespread media coverage for her lively presentations, workshops and lectures and for her cultural contributions to the South Florida Day of the Dead Celebration. Tara's artistic work in the specialized art of tradtional traje (outfit) making for Danza, were recently highlighted on MTV TR3S Top 20.
As an emerging leader in the preservation and practice of indigenous lifeways, part of Tara's
responsibility is to find ways to maintain and pass on the skills and knowledge she has earned in the same ways that those opportunities to earn and learn were presented to her. Winning a CAEP grant from the Broward County Cultural Division has helped to leverage interest and support from local cultural and arts organizations such as the Miramar Cultural Center and local United Nations Association.
Tara Chadwick is also a writer, educator, and mentor with over 30 years of demonstrated success bridging community and culture. Ms. Chadwick has provided administration, training and technical assistance for a cross section of local, regional and international organizations and has a unique ability to facilitate meaningful information and insight sharing that is mutually beneficial, culturally responsive and respectful. Most recently, Tara has served as a consultant and teaching artist for several culture and arts venues including the Perez Art Museum of Miami, Orlando Museum of Art, Broward County Public Schools, the Koubek Cultural Center of Miami Dade College and the City of Miramar’s Little Broadway Summer Camp.
An indigenous Belizean-Canadian woman of Mayan, English and African descent, Ms. Chadwick works in regions as diverse as Canada, Belize, the American Midwest and South Florida. Her integrated approach to community development has been shown effective in improving outcomes for children, youth, teachers, trainers, educators, curriculum developers, managers and directors. Ms. Chadwick continually demonstrates her expertise as a social change agent, engaging in strategic education, science and technology initiatives that motivate community wide behavior change from a solid foundation of interwoven social asset and relationship building.
Through a purposeful focus on identifying and upholding community held values, Ms. Chadwick has played a key leadership role in the design, incubation and launch of many community relevant, values driven social enterprises such as the Division of Indian Work's award winning "Live It" program and the Science Museum of Minnesota’s record-breaking exhibition “Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed.” Using her degree in Cultural Anthropology and advanced certificate in Aboriginal Worldviews in Education to revitalize and apply indigenous knowledge to contemporary issues, Tara infuses her wealth of experience in education, management and organizing to enhance the life experience of children, youth and adults in her communities with both public and private partnerships.
Her vision is to build support for an effective, vibrant, culture-based movement that celebrates Earth, her people and our power to create a human legacy of health, happiness and harmony with the cycles of nature and each other.
