A Guide to the University of Texas at San Antonio: Institute of Texan Cultures: Curator of Exhibits Records, 1987-2000

Historical Note

The Institute of Texan Cultures (ITC) Curator of Exhibits was responsible for collecting materials to display in exhibits, researching exhibits, and maintaining exhibits.

The ITC was established by the Fifty-ninth Texas Legislature on May 27, 1965. The agency was directed to develop and implement an appropriate plan for the state's participation in HemisFair '68 to plan exhibits related to the history of Texas, its development, resources, and contributions; and to design and erect a building suited to housing these exhibits, giving due consideration to its utility for state purposes after the fair. The ITC, a permanent state agency located on HemisFair grounds in San Antonio, was designed to study the ethnic groups that settled in Texas. While not a museum, the ITC displayed relics, artifacts, and personal memorabilia, but only those that had a direct connection with telling the story of the people in each ethnic group. The exhibits made use of sound, color, movement, and atmospheric design. R. Henderson Shuffler guided the research projects and formed the original staff.

The ITC's continued function is to bring together, on loan, fragments of Texas history collections from museums and archives throughout the state, to produce filmstrips and slide shows on segments of Texas history, and to publish historical pamphlets and books. The ITC was put under the University of Texas System effective June 5, 1969, and its official title became the University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures at San Antonio. In 1986 the ITC became, more specifically, a part of the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Upon the death of Shuffler in 1975, Jack R. Maguire was named director. Rex H. Ball was director of the ITC in 1995. He was advised by the ITC's development board and reported directly to the president of UTSA, Samuel A. Kirkpatrick. In 1995 there were 100 regular staff members and 450 volunteer workers. The ITC was funded by biennial legislative appropriations, grants, contributions, and funds generated by the sale of publications, audiovisuals, other products, and the rental of the ITC's facilities. In addition to maintaining 50,000 square feet of exhibits featuring twenty-seven cultures and ethnic groups, the ITC hosts the Texas Folklife Festival, the Asian Festival, and other events.

Also included in the collection are the records of an exhibit project on Tejano history and culture that began in 1990. The Tejano Task Force was chaired by Phyllis McKenzie, a research associate for the Institute of Texan Cultures, and the task force established an exhibit that was on display from 1996-2000. The mission of the Tejano Project was to “foster an understanding of the history and culture of the Tejanos while encouraging appreciation of their contributions. The Tejano exhibit encourages acceptance and appreciation of our differences as well as our common humanity.” The exhibit incorporated the ideas and concerns of the Tejano community through a series of community meetings held throughout Texas. The Tejano Task Force was composed of an interdepartmental team of the Institute of Texan Cultures staff members Patrick Chavez, Matt Solorio, Phyllis McKenzie, Tom Shelton, Sally Wiskermann, David LaRo, Willie Mendez, Patty Burrus, and Lorenzo Galvan Jr., The task force took the stories of first, second, and third generation Tejanos and created an exhibit that documented their struggles, history, and culture in Texas.

Phase one of the exhibit began in December 1994 and was completed and opened in March 1995. The exhibit included architecture, miniature dioramas showcasing life in San Antonio in the 1790’s, and an interactive video featuring three mannequins designed to give the visitor a sense of what life was like during the Spanish Colonial Era. Phase Two of the exhibit began in December 1995 and opened in March 1996 and was comprised of installations of Tejano life from the Spanish Colonial period through the 1970s. The themes of the exhibit were Tejano conceptions of community and identity. The first two sections were Colonial Roots and Family completed in 1996 and 1998, while the last two sections Work and Community and Family Life were installed in 1999 and 2000.

Source for Institute of Texan Cultures History:

• Tiller, David C. "University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures", Handbook of Texas Online.http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/UU/kcu25.html (Accessed August 24, 2009).

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Scope and Content Note

Comprises the files of museum exhibit curator Susan Harwell from 1987-1989. Includes administrative correspondence and memoranda regarding the functions of exhibit preparation and maintenance, as well as files regarding the curation of specific exhibits.

Exhibit files pertain to exhibits created and displayed by the Institute of Texan Cultures museum. Exhibit titles include "Here Before HemisFair: Four Generations of a Polish Family", "San Antonio Treasures", "Seize the Moment", "Remember Me: Photographs from a Black Family's Album", and others.

The records of the Tejano Task Force are comprised of memoranda, correspondence, research files, committee reports, videotapes and minutes of community meetings, drafts, and photographic materials pertaining to the planning, function and preparation of the Tejano Exhibit Area between 1990-2000. The collection consists of 12 linear ft. organized into six series: Community interviews (6 ft.), Correspondence (2 ft.), Report and surveys (2 ft.), Subject files (1 ft.) Research files (1 ft.). The majority of the records are videotapes and audiocassettes of interviews conducted between 1991-1998 with Tejanos in Texas.

This collection is housed at UTSA's HemisFair Park Campus, though off-site access is also available at UTSA's John Peace Library.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

Usage Restrictions

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], University of Texas at San Antonio Institute of Texan Cultures Curator of Exhibits Records, UA 15.01.11, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections.

Acquisition Information

Transferred to the University Archives from Rebecca Luther, Senior Editor, Office of University Publications, University of Texas at San Antonio in 2008 (Acc. 2009-051). The material had been found by Luther in a file cabinet acquired from the UTSA Surplus Property department.

Processing Information

Processed and encoded by Angela McClendon Ossar, University Archivist, August 2009. More detailed processing is not anticipated at this time.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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Tejano Task Force

Correspondence

Box

2

Artifact correspondence [1-3], 1990-2003

Artifact negotiations [1-2], 1995-2003

Audio visual equipment, 1995-2000

Bonet, Elida, 1998

Charge, 1993-1996

Christ the King Church, 1997

Colonial roots, 1996

Community meeting, 1996

Commentaries staff, 1994-1996

Consultant letters, 1991

Consultant potentials, 1990-1996

Content reviewers, 1996

De La Teja, Frank, 1996-2001

El Paso trip, 1991

Family,1996

Fundseeking, 1999

Guerra, Enrique, 1991-1997

Histowall panels, 1996

House reconfiguration, 2003

Los Caminos Del Rio, 1991

Lubbock correspondence, 1994

Lubbock RSVP, 1994

Lubbock trip, 1999

Manikins [1-2], 1993-2007

Mother's Day San Antonio, 2000

Opening phase 1, 1996

Box

3

King Ranch, 1997

Memos, 1990-1998

Music interactive, 1997-2003

New Mexico trip [1-2], 1992-1997

Pastorella, 1995-1996

Phase 2 graphics, 1997

Phase 2 planning, 1998

Posada, 1992

Quotes colonial roots, 2002-2003

Quotes, 1996

Quotes wall, 1995-1998

Religious case, 2000

Resource, 1996

San Antonio consultants, 1992

San Antonio, 1999-2003

Schedules, 1991-1996

Socorro project, 1995-1996

Tamalada, 1998-1999

Tejano Committee, 1992

Tejano muralist, 1993-1996

Time Warner funding, 2000

Transcribing project, 1999-2000

United States-Mexico fund for culture, 2000

Valley trip, 1999

Website, 2002

Wedding, 1997-2002

Videos, 1992-1996

Transcripts

Box

4

Booklet, 2000-2003

Booklet review, 2002

Booklet content review, 1999-2002

Booklet Mexican Texans, 2002

Community meetings

Abernathy, Texas

Box

5

Gudzikowski, Laurie and Tom Shelton, 1994 View Contents

LaRo, David part 1, 1994 View Contents

LaRo, David part 2, 1994 View Contents

McKenzie, Phyllis interviewing Juan Flores et. al., 1994 View Contents

Solorio, Matt, 1994 View Contents

Box

4

Edinburg, Texas, 1994 View Contents

Elmendorf, Texas, 1994-09-08 View Contents

El Paso, Texas

Box

4

Fitts, Bob and Leslie Burns part 1, 1994 View Contents

Fitts, Bob and Leslie Burns part 2, 1994 View Contents

Galvan, Lawrence 1994 View Contents

Gudzikowski, Laurie, 1994 View Contents

McKenzie, Phyllis, 1994 View Contents

Shelton, Tom and Matt Solario, 1994 View Contents

Institute of Texan Cultures

Box

4

Fitts, Bob and Matt Solario, 1993 View Contents

Box

5

Gonzalez, Cindi part 1, 1994 View Contents

Gonzalez, Cindi part 2, 1994 View Contents

Gudzikowski, Laurie part 1, 1994 View Contents

Gudzikowski, Laurie part 2, 1994 View Contents

Gudzikowski, Laurie part 3, 1994 View Contents

McNutt, Jim and Cynthia Orozco, 1994 View Contents

McKenzie, Phyllis, 1994 View Contents

McKenzie, Phyllis, Tom Shelton, and David LaRo, 1994 View Contents

Tijerina, Andres et. al., 1994 View Contents

Lubbock, Texas

Box

5

Galvan, Lorenzo and Leo Benavidez part 1, 1994 View Contents

Galvan, Lorenzo and Leo Benavidez part 2, 1994 View Contents

Gudzikowski, Laurie part 1, 1994 View Contents

Gudzikowski, Laurie part 2, 1994 View Contents

Lala's restaurant interview with Mr. Cavazos, 1994 View Contents

LaRo, David part 1, 1994 View Contents

LaRo, David part 2, 1994 View Contents

McKenzie, Phyllis part 1, 1994 View Contents

McKenzie, Phyllis part 2, 1994 View Contents

Solorio, Matt, 1994 View Contents

Gonzalez, Cindi, 1994 View Contents

Shelton, Tom, 1994 View Contents

Colonial roots, 1998

Family, 1998

Gallery Theater, 1992

Gallery Theater Dia de los Muertos, 1992

Guerra, Dora, 1995

House exhibit, 1993

Lala's resturant, 1992

Quotes on colonial roots, 2000

Ritual video, 2000

Tenayuca, Emma, 1995

Video Production [1-2], 1998-1999

Histobook 1999-2000

Ford Foundation, 2000

Institute of Texan Culture staff Tejano community meetings, 1993

Ranching lifestyles, 1999

San Antonio [1-4], 1993

Tejano community meetings Bowie high school, 1994

Box

6

Tejano/Tejana Historical Association, March 5, 1993 View Contents

Texas State Historical Association, 1993

El Paso exhibits and research , 2000

Tejano Task Force [1-2], 1992-1999

Subject files

Box

7

Booklet Mexican Texans [1-2], 2001-2004

Cinco de Mayo, 1996-2000

Conferences [1-2], 1992-2000

Diez y Seiz Crystal City, Texas, 2000

Elizondo, Patti, 1997-1999

Entadas, 1996

Feast day, 1992

Friar mannikin, 1990-1996

Graham, Joe, 1997

Harris, Frank, 1998

Idar family, 1999

Jacal, 1993-1996

Lubbock names, 1997

Native Americans, 1995

Nelson, George, 1991

Phase 3-4, 1998-2000

Rituals, 1995-1999

Socorro [1-2], 1990-1996

Research Files

Box

8

Alamo aftermath, 1996-1997

Albuquerque Museum, 1991

Avance Research, 2001

Blue collar, 1998

Book research on economy, 1990

Border region, 1990

Research centers, 1997

Costumes, 1993

Islanders, 1996

Education, 2000-2001

18th century, 1995-1997

Entrepeneurs, 1996

Farmworkers, 1996-1997

Folk art, 1997

Laredo trip, 1999-2000

Military, 1990-2002

Music, 1990-1995

Newspapers [1-2], 1990-1998

Poverty and discrimination, 1998

Resources, 1994-2000

Resumes, 1994-2000

Sanez history, 1996-1997

Texas highways photos, 1990

Women, 1990-1997

Reports

Box

9

Artifacts, 1998-2000

Avance Inc, 1992

Lubbock Texas, 1994

New Mexico trip, 1991

Blue collar workers, 1990

Cisneros report, 2000

Copyrights, 1996-1997

Opening phase 2, 1998

Phase 1A, 1993-1995

Phase 1B planning [1-2], 1993-1996

Phase 1 A, 1993

Poyo, Jerry, 1990-1992

Phase 2 family [1-2], 1997-1998

Publicity [1-2], 1999-2000

Tejano costumes Schmit, Marilee [1-2], 1991

Tejano video project, 1992

Tijerina, Andes, 1997

Box

10

Concept statement, 1999

Docents, 1995

Design reports [1-2], 1995-1998

Field notes, 1998-1999

Gallery theater, 1993

House, 1997

Jacal, 1996-2000

Lubbock, 1996

Progress reports, 1996

McDonald, David, 1996

Murals, 1993

Redesign, 1994

Reconfiguration, 2000

Religion, 1995

Textiles, 1990

Video filming, 1992

Visitor reports [1-3], 1995-1997

Finished house reports, 1999

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