The witte museum will improve care of 50,000 artifacts from the texas history collection through cataloging, rehousing and enhancing collections management

This $531,011 federal Project Grant awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the Museums for America (CFDA 45.301) program supports The Witte Museum's efforts to improve the care and management of its 50,000-artifact Texas history collection. Key project activities include purchasing specialized storage equipment, cataloging and rehousing the collection, and training volunteers to process the artifacts and update catalog records. This work will enable the museum to plan more diverse exhibitions and share a wider variety of historical stories and perspectives with visitors. The project aims to enhance the museum's collections management capabilities and increase public access to its Texas-focused cultural heritage holdings.

This project builds on a recently completed concept plan for a new interpretive strategy that will reveal the history of texas through individual, familial, and generational stories ensuring that all visitors see themselves represented in the history galleries. Project activities will include purchasing a metal shelving system, and training volunteers to process artifacts, update catalog records, and rehouse the objects in the new storage equipment. Objects that will be rehoused include furniture, ceramics, glassware, decorative arts, food tins and commercial products, fashion accessories, musical instruments, tools for various forms of labor, and entertainment artifacts. As a result, museum staff will be better able to plan exhibitions and rotate a wider variety of artifacts which will increase the number of stories that can be shared in the galleries and updated as new scholarship emerges.