Our mission at the Time Travel Collective (TTC) is to explore Canada’s colonial past and the pathways towards reconciliation through the lens of multidisciplinary arts and technology. We create dialogues that span time – connecting past, present, and future – by weaving the narratives of Indigenous and Settler communities into immersive, accessible, thought-provoking experiences. Our Collective engages in this exploration by reimagining histories and possible futures with a blend of artistic expression and innovative media, fostering cultural understanding and environmental stewardship.

The Time Travel Collective grew out of the relationships that developed during the creation of the Betwixt & Between: An Untold Tom Thomson Story, which culminated in a major exhibition at the Tom Thomson Art Gallery, incorporating Augmented Reality and immersive, experiential opportunities for engagement, and involving the collaboration/contribution of over 100 individuals and organizations. This project received substantial support from Provincial and Federal funding organizations as well as through the private sector.

Since then, the Collective has participated in several artist residencies, have created public art projects, and have been the subject of a CBC documentary. We have also had a series of “Conversation” exhibitions at public art galleries where we have used storytelling as a form of activation and invitation for the communities where they have taken place in. (Thunder Bay Art Gallery, MacLaren Art Centre – Barrie ON, Godfrey Dean Art Gallery – Yorkton SK, and THEMUSEUM – Kitchener ON) We have used the exhibitions as an opportunity to work with local Indigenous and Settler community members and have tailored the exhibitions and community “conversations” to reflect the needs, challenges, and concerns for each local. We continue to evolve the content and production of the exhibition as it goes from place to place.

With our foundational Betwixt & Between project, we used the byline that we were “85% authentic”. While it was meant to have a playful tone it had a serious meaning. It was a challenge to museums, governments, and our educational system – all of which present “history” from a position of absolute authority. The reality is something different however and we recognized that there were many histories, all depending on who was telling the story. Betwixt & Between offered an opportunity to bring together different histories through one project, and challenged audiences and participants to question the official canons they had been taught and to dig deeper to see how much of that was true. Or not. This challenging/questioning official histories is something we have carried through in our Time Travel Collective and why it was a priority for us to have Indigenous, Settler and New Canadian members so that we could share our stories and perspectives in respectful ways, ultimately learning from and about one another’s cultures. This is something critically relevant to Canadian society at this time.