TEXAS CULTURAL LANDSCAPES SYMPOSIUM

1:00 – 2:00 pm — Making the Invisible Visible: Rural Cultural Landscapes 
Hilton Waco, Brazos Ballroom
This panel discussion will focus on the identification, documentation, and preservation of rural cultural landscapes in Texas.  Dr. Perky Beisel will share her work with the Voices from Small Places project, which focuses on collaborative, community-focused documentation of the history of places in Texas with fewer than 100 residents. Dr. Andrea Roberts, the founder of the Texas Freedom Colonies Project, will discuss her efforts to protect vanishing communities established by freed slaves in Texas between 1866 and 1920. Sandro Canovas will discuss the cultural importance of adobe to West Texas and the importance of keeping this indigenous building method alive.  His activism has been featured in a recent documentary, which reinforces his message that Adobe is Political. 
Moderator: Evan Thompson / Preservation Texas
Dr. Perky Beisel /  Stephen F. Austin University
Sandro Canovas /  Adobero and Activist
Dr. Andrea Roberts / Texas A&M University