OUR MISSION:
To preserve, showcase, and nurture Venice’s diverse cultural heritage and history.
OUR VISION:
The Venice Heritage Museum (VHM) will give Venetians, Angelenos, and visitors alike the opportunity to experience stories, collections, and archives from one of our country's most culturally rich and innovative communities—Venice, California.
The Museum will be a space for discovery. In the face of constant change, VHM will be an inclusive hub to celebrate the diverse cultures and unique facets of Venice history. Venice’s accepting and progressive legacy will be on display, with exhibits highlighting both well-known and more obscure stories, showcasing their relevance in today’s world.
Ultimately, the Venice Heritage Museum will serve to enrich the lives of current and future generations through exhibitions, events, and educational activities, connecting the present with the past.
The Museum will be a space for discovery. In the face of constant change, VHM will be an inclusive hub to celebrate the diverse cultures and unique facets of Venice history. Venice’s accepting and progressive legacy will be on display, with exhibits highlighting both well-known and more obscure stories, showcasing their relevance in today’s world.
Ultimately, the Venice Heritage Museum will serve to enrich the lives of current and future generations through exhibitions, events, and educational activities, connecting the present with the past.
OUR VALUES:
Living Heritage
Living Heritage
- Rotating exhibits will showcase our vast in-house and community archives, representing Venice’s creative and socioeconomically diverse history
- Hosting conversations, talks, and gatherings to celebrate time and place
- Collecting stories as local history evolves and grows, developing a hub for the future as well as the past
- Providing a permanent platform for Venice’s diverse communities, highlighting both well-known and untold stories
- Providing a place of discovery for the unique facets of Venice’s cultural heritage
- Representing historical legacies through the words, images, and ephemera of community members themselves
- Improving the lives of locals, Angelenos, and visitors by deepening and enriching their understanding of our city’s history
- Serving as a common ground where all attendees can meet and gather to celebrate Venice’s unique culture through innovative exhibits and events
- Educating and empowering young people to take pride in their hometown, their family histories, and the stories of cultural innovators who have lived and worked in Venice
- Nurturing youth to write the next chapter of Venice history by becoming cultural stewards and storytellers in their own right
WHY HERITAGE AND NOT HISTORY?
"Heritage is the full range of our inherited traditions, monuments, objects, and culture. Most important, it is the range of contemporary activities, meanings, and behaviors that we draw from them." (UMass Amherst)
Why does the Venice Heritage Museum (VHM) emphasize the word heritage as opposed to history? The shortest answer is that the mission of VHM is to highlight the cultural and collective stories of Venetians. Our work is to curate and collect stories, artifacts, memorabilia, and memories and through them tell the story of Venice.
History and heritage are often conflated, though in reality their end goals are entirely different: history tells the story of what and how it happened; heritage tells the story of those who lived, experienced, and contributed to that history.
Venice's heritage is uniquely rich, as so many people in Venice come from different backgrounds. Over 115+ years, Venice has experienced cultural shifts and economic turbulence, and yet common threads are still found within the community. It is those shared commonalities that make all of us Venetians.
"Heritage is the full range of our inherited traditions, monuments, objects, and culture. Most important, it is the range of contemporary activities, meanings, and behaviors that we draw from them." (UMass Amherst)
Why does the Venice Heritage Museum (VHM) emphasize the word heritage as opposed to history? The shortest answer is that the mission of VHM is to highlight the cultural and collective stories of Venetians. Our work is to curate and collect stories, artifacts, memorabilia, and memories and through them tell the story of Venice.
History and heritage are often conflated, though in reality their end goals are entirely different: history tells the story of what and how it happened; heritage tells the story of those who lived, experienced, and contributed to that history.
Venice's heritage is uniquely rich, as so many people in Venice come from different backgrounds. Over 115+ years, Venice has experienced cultural shifts and economic turbulence, and yet common threads are still found within the community. It is those shared commonalities that make all of us Venetians.
