California Story Fund
Family Stories:
Sharing a Community’s Legacy
Pasadena Museum of History
Pasadena
Project Director: Ardis Willwerth
Museum to research and create an exhibit based on the stories of six families from different ethnic groups
This project will research and collect stories, photographs and artifacts from six families representing Pasadena’s largest ethnic groups: African American, Anglo American, Armenian, Chinese, Japanese and Latino.
“The idea is to explore Pasadena’s long history of ethnic diversity through the sharing and interpreting of these families’ stories,” said Ardis Willwerth, the director of the project and the Pasadena Museum’s director of Exhibitions, Public Programming and Education.
The stories and research gathered during the project will be integrated into a major exhibit at the Pasadena Museum from May 9 through Aug. 9, 2009. The exhibit will place the stories of the six selected families into a larger cultural and historical context and incorporate materials from the museum’s collection.
A variety of educational programs will accompany the exhibit, including a teachers workshop, children’s programs and lectures. In connection with the exhibit, a free family day is planned to encourage conversation about the various experiences of Pasadena residents.
“We hope that the exhibit will broaden understanding and appreciation for the diversity in our local history and energize museum visitors to think deeply about their own experiences and those of their families,” Willwerth said.