Dr. Thomas E. Chavez presentation at the School for Advanced Research

Chasing History: Quixotic Quests for Artifacts, Art, and Heritage
April 8, 2014-Thomas E. Chávez
Using the literary model of Don Quixote, Historian Thomas E. Chávez will reflect on his career and work for two of New Mexico's premier cultural institutions-the Palace of the Governors and the National Hispanic Culture Center. He champions the creative people who work in the arts through humorous stories that reflect the nuances of museums from happenstance to fundraising to the politics behind the reality. These are the true stories of determined people seeking to do the impossible. As Chavez writes, ''I worked with intelligent, creative, and sensitive people. My colleagues were dreamers and doers. We could have been neither but we came to our life's work intentionally with the realization that there was something inherently important in what we were doing.''
Dr. Chávez was the Director of the Palace of Governors for twenty-one years and past Executive Director of the National Hispanic Culture Center in Albuquerque. His research into Santa Fe and New Mexico's history has taken him throughout the United States, Mexico, Spain, and Argentina. He has published numerous articles and books about New Mexico's history, including his most recent book Chasing History: Quixotic Quests for Artifacts, Art and Heritage.