Articles
HCC’s digital Fashion Archive debuts on Google Arts & Culture platform
Oct 18, 2022
Houston Community College’s digital Fashion Archive – a collection of historic fashion, accessories and textiles from the 1740s to present, has just been added to Google Arts & Culture, the renowned arts platform that features more than 2,000 leading museums and archives viewed by researchers and art aficionados across the world.
HCC joins a small, elite group of community colleges and Houston institutions to be featured on the site.
“To put this in perspective, we are one of two community colleges in the U.S. on the platform with a collection hosted, and only one of five institutions from Houston to have a collection featured,” says Erica Hubbard, Central College director of Library Services, who spearheaded the effort to have HCC’s Fashion Archive accepted on the platform. “We are super excited to be there.”
HCC’s Fashion Archive contains more than 8,000 garments, accessories and textiles representing a vast array of historic and contemporary fashions from the 18th century to today. It is housed in large storerooms in HCC’s Fannin St. building on the college’s Central Campus.
A few years ago, Hubbard applied for and received state grants to begin the process of digitizing the collection, which has been expertly captured in high-resolution images by photographer Shane Qureshi. To date, 169 images have been uploaded to Google Arts & Culture’s site, as well as a curated exhibit by HCC Fashion Design professor Alex Chapman and Bethany Herman, HCC’s Fashion Design and Fashion Merchandising department liaison/public service librarian.
View HCC’s Fashion Archive in Google here: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/tgVRkCQ7fx17cA.
The effort to be included on the platform was lengthy and extensive. “This has been three years in the making, and it took a lot of labor and commitment from HCC’s Office of General Counsel, HCC’s Fashion Design department and HCC Libraries,” Hubbard explained.
She also credited the HCC Foundation for underwriting the project and exhibition catalog, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission for providing funds to digitize the collection, and the Institute of Museum and Library Service that also provided funds.
Google Arts & Culture is a collection of high-resolution images, videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world. Hubbard says being included in this venue is an honor that continues to elevate HCC’s Fashion Design program as world-class in fashion design instruction.
The archive provides opportunities to explore history, customs and culture in Houston and throughout the world,” she says. “Having our Fashion Archive hosted on Google exposes us on an international level and serves as a marketing tool for potential students.”
To view HCC’s Fashion Archive: https://fashionarchive.hccs.edu/.