Telling Austin's history through T-shirts
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How many of your favorite band T-shirts have you thrown out, but wish you could get back?
The folks at South Austin Popular Cultural Center are doing their part to preserve a bit of local music history, one vintage T-shirt at a time.
Henry Gonzalez with the museum has been a part of the 78704 zip code for more than thirty years. He came to town in the early β70s to study art at the University of Texas.
"It was a paradise back then," Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez has been living, breathing and creating art since. Over the years, he's also become a historian. Gonzalez is displaying a collection of more than 130 vintage T-shirts during the month of December.
"We change the exhibit every six to eight weeks, and this one typifies the music scene for Austin," Gonzalez said.
If there was an Austin musician who played around the club scene in the β70s and β80s, the chances are good that they are imbedded in ink somewhere in the collection.
"I think I've accomplished a lot," Gonzalez said. βIt's not about how you start a project. It's about how you end it."
You can see the T-shirt display at the South Austin Pop Cultural Center through the end of the year.