Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelby Lane Stewart.
Shelby, before we jump into specific questions about the orgnization, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I cultivated the idea to bring a hip-hop museum to the city of Houston while pursuing my Master’s degree at the University of Houston. Before I had the idea to start a museum, I’m a journalist. I’ve always been interested in music and history, and I have a knack for storytelling, so I write about music every chance I get. The majority of my life has been surrounded by music in some kind of way, and I wanted to share my passion for hip-hop music with the public- and what better way to do that, than through a museum?
With the help of my advisor and a few others, I’ve been slowly able to bring my idea to life. Although the pandemic has slowed a few things down, we’re making gradual progress, and hopefully we will have an official location in Third Ward soon.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The journey has been nothing short of smooth, but for that I’m grateful. I’m creating a hip-hop museum in the city of Houston, and that’s never been done before. I’m learning as I go. When you blaze your own trail, you’re bound to run into a few obstacles. But there’s beauty in that. Through all of the obstacles, consistency has been one of the few things that’s helped with progress.
Please tell us about the orgnization.
Houston’s Hip-Hop Museum has an obligation to the city of Houston, and the Greater Houston Area. The museum will celebrate the history and culture of Houston’s hip-hop scene and will also help to cultivate current Houston talent. There are three primary goals of the museum. Firstly, there is a need to present a history that showcases Houston’s talent, outside of the realm of just the music, there is a much deeper culture that comes with the intersection between the hip-hop music and the city of Houston. A second goal is to actively create knowledge about the history of Houston’s music culture. The museum will therefore hope to educate its visitors about Houston’s role in making our culture so prevalent in today’s music. The final objective of the museum is to preserve and commemorate knowledge. There is a desire to memorialize the artists who may not have gotten the mainstream recognition they deserved.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success has become a lot about celebrating even the smallest wins that come my way. Little wins, gaining more exposure, a new follower on social media are still successes in my book. Building something from the ground up takes a lot of time and effort, so in this case, everything matters.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.htxhiphopmuseum.org
- Phone: 8328994094
- Email: shelby@htxhiphopmuseum.org
- Instagram: @htxhiphopmuseum
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/htxhiphopmuseum/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/htxhiphopmuseum
Image Credit:
Design credit for the logo: Ashton Pleasant
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