With the anniversary of Hurricane Harvey fast approaching in August, the havoc it left in its path is far from over for some residents. These stalwart citizens are still trying to recover and rebuild. To capture the impactful stories of despair, hope, and determination the Houston Flood Museum has been created to capture those stories and photos of a time when Houston residents showed that the community stood tall, proud, and #HoustonStrong.
According to an article by houstoniamag.com, the project is a collaboration of a few groups coming together to make this dream a reality. These groups include the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, FotoFest, Houston Public Library, the Trust for Public Land, and more. All of them are coming together to tell the stories of those who weathered the flood.
Photo: Facebook.com/Fox26 Houston
This August HFM will begin the process of accepting submissions of stories, photos, and audio, among other items that can be archived and curated. Although a brick and mortar building is not part of the plans for this project, they will travel across the city providing pop-up exhibitions sharing the history of these impactful events.
Writer Lacy Johnson, who is a published author and Rice assistant professor, began the process of writing about the post-disaster city. “We’re kind of nomadic and ephemeral,” Johnson told houstoniamag.com regarding the museum. “I like to think about it using the flood as a metaphor: We’re inundating spaces for a short time, and then we recede.” Johnson, with support from the Houston Endowment, initiated the HFM project.
Photo: Facebook.com/Chris Suchan Meteorologist
Houston Public Media is slated to provide a video series that captures the sentiments and thoughts of local leaders as they reflect on the devastation of the storm. A podcast about Harvey will also be featured. Rice University will also maintain much of the items as part of an ongoing Harvey Memories Project.
Photo: Facebook/Trendy Magazine
According to an article by glasstire.com, the HFM website will serve as a repository to capture not just the moments pivotal to Hurricane Harvey but plans to “encapsulate Houston’s predisposition to flooding in a broader context.” Houston, unfortunately, has plenty of contributions to include regarding the impact of floods on the city. Its history of floods includes the Tax Day flood, a Memorial Day flood, and most recently the Independence Day flood.
You can keep track of the project at houstonfloodmuseum.org. Submissions will start being accepted via the website starting in August 2018.
