Talk or Panel Unraveling the Archive: 250 Years of Fashion, History, and Regional Heritage-A Conversation with Dr. Tina Zarpour on preserving Historic Textiles
Talk or Panel Unraveling the Archive: 250 Years of Fashion, History, and Regional Heritage-A Conversation with Dr. Tina Zarpour on preserving Historic Textiles
Unraveling the Archive: 250 Years of Fashion, History, and Regional Heritage invites audiences on a captivating journey through the San Diego History Center’s extraordinary, rarely seen textile and garment archives. Framed around the nation’s 250th anniversary of independence, this talk offers an inside look at how these historical archives are curated and preserved, demonstrating how San Diego’s regional history aligns with the broader American story through material culture. Dr. Tina Zarpour will highlight key pieces from the archive while unpacking why preserving historic apparel is essential to a history center—showing how garments serve as living historical documents that reveal intimate stories about culture, identity, economics, and everyday life across generations.
About the Host
Dr. Tina Zarpour
About the Speaker
Dr. Tina Zarpour serves as the Vice President of Education, Collections, and Community Engagement at the San Diego History Center. Holding a Master’s in Applied Anthropology and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park, she brings over two decades of experience in museum leadership, collections management, and cultural heritage, including previous work with the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum of Us. Her work focuses on participatory archiving, making museum collections accessible to diverse audiences, and honoring regional stories through community engagement and historical preservation.
