ITC Centennial 2068

As we look ahead to the next 50 years of the Institute of Texan Cultures (ITC), now is the time to reimagine how the museum can more fully engage our communities and share Texan culture with the world. ITC Centennial 2068 is a long-term planning effort that will be supported through numerous due diligence efforts, a considerate community engagement process and broad private market feedback to make data-informed decisions around the future of ITC as a world-renowned museum that showcases Texas culture to the San Antonio community and visitors from around the world.

This effort is rooted in UTSA’s vision to give voice to the experiences of people from across the globe who call Texas home by providing insight into their past, present and future and showcasing the uniqueness and beauty of the many cultures that comprise Texas.

Use the links on this page to learn more about each of these stages and the progress toward realizing the future of ITC.

The Evaluative Process

The current phase of ITC Centennial 2068 involves the thorough and careful exploration of three scenarios developed by the Steering Committee during the visioning process.

The scenarios developed by the Steering Committee are conceptual and serve as a launching point for further discovery and exploration of specific issues to move the process beyond the visioning phase. UTSA has engaged professional subject matter experts as part of a thorough evaluation of the existing facilities, to explore the possible implementation of each scenario with potential community partners, including experts with specific knowledge related to museums, architecture and real estate development.

Use the buttons at the top of the page to learn more about the current phase of ITC Centennial 2068.

Community Stakeholder Visioning Process

UTSA began ITC Centennial 2068 with a Community Stakeholder Visioning Process led by the Steering Committee, who issued a final report that presented three scenarios for the future of ITC.

ITC Centennial 2068 began with a community-wide visioning process. UTSA invited diverse community leaders to form three task forces to focus on areas of importance for future planning: “Museum of the Future”; Community Engagement and Sustaining Support; and Facility and Land Stewardship. The task forces held public community conversations to engage the community in the process. Each task force concluded their work with recommendation reports, which informed the steering committee’s work in developing three equally feasible scenarios for the future of ITC.

Through this initiative, the Institute of Texan Cultures will deepen and broaden its engagement with our communities as an exemplary cultural heritage institution — one that informs our future and inclusively tells the story of our past — and will continue to define for future generations what it means to be a Texan.

The Institute of Texan Cultures and its museum are irreplaceable centers of knowledge and discovery that uniquely share the story of Texas’ cultural history and diversity. Our goal is to ensure that the ITC continues to thrive, is self-sustaining, and delivers robust programs that capture the interest and imagination of Texans of all ages.

Taylor Eighmy, UTSA president

What does it mean to be a Texan?

For more than 50 years, the Institute of Texan Cultures has sought to define what ‘Texan’ means by giving voice to the experiences of people from across the globe who call Texas home by providing insight into their past, present and future and showcasing the uniqueness and beauty of the many cultures that comprise Texas.

UTSA has been entrusted to steward the ITC since 1973, five years after it opened as the Texas State Exhibits Pavilion for the 1968 World’s Fair — Hemisfair ’68. We have been honored to serve in this important role and are proud of the impact the ITC has had in our state and city, too. For more than 300 years, San Antonio has evoked the unique legacy of Texas and the indomitable spirit of Texans. The Institute of Texan Cultures is a special part of the fabric of San Antonio — and who we are as San Antonians.

For these reasons and so many more, we value the ITC and its mission, and we are committed to ensuring the ITC thrives for the next 50 years and beyond.

In 2021, UTSA is embarking on a robust community engagement process to envision the next 50 years of the ITC and its museum, the only resources in Texas devoted entirely to the state’s rich, diverse history. The ITC Centennial 2068: Community Stakeholder Visioning initiative seeks to provide current and future generations with a greater awareness of and appreciation for Texas’ unique cultural heritage by expanding the institute’s research and storytelling through new programming, greater use of technology, and the exploration of topics at the intersection of culture and current events.