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A Guide to the University of Texas at San Antonio: Institute of Texan Cultures: Curator of Exhibits Records, 1987-1989
Historical NoteThe 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. Source for Institute of Texan Cultures History:
Return to the Table of Contents Scope and Content NoteComprises 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. Return to the Table of Contents
Return to the Table of Contents RestrictionsAccess RestrictionsThere are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public. Usage RestrictionsThe researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply. Return to the Table of Contents
Return to the Table of Contents Related Material
Return to the Table of Contents Administrative InformationPreferred Citation[Identification of item], University of Texas at San Antonio Institute of Texan Cultures Curator of Exhibits Records, UA 15.01.11, Archives and Special Collections, UTSA Library. Acquisition InformationTransferred 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 InformationProcessed and encoded by Angela McClendon Ossar, University Archivist, August 2009. More detailed processing is not anticipated at this time. Return to the Table of Contents Detailed Description of the Collection
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