Ventura County, The Place We Call Home

Free admission

The Museum of Ventura County (MVC) celebrates the County’s 150th anniversary with Ventura County, The Place We Call Home, a photography exhibition that highlights the diversity of our communities by featuring different interpretations of Ventura County as home. Some people perceive home as a physical place where they grew up. For others, family and those they share their lives with are what make them ‘feel at home.’ The taste of food, beloved objects, and fond memories are other ways that people define what home means to them.

The exhibition utilizes both historical and contemporary photographs to compare and contrast, over time, the lives of the people connected to Ventura County and their relationship to nature, the land, and each other. The historical photos will be drawn primarily from the Museum’s Library and Archives Collection. Photos from various county historical societies will be included. Contemporary photographs, taken throughout Ventura County, will be created by a diverse group of Ventura County artists selected by the MVC Chief Curator.

The exhibition is meant to take visitors on a journey through Ventura County, where they will discover a tapestry of shared experiences and individual stories while exploring the meaning of ‘home’ through the lens of our diverse communities.

Ventura County, The Place We Call Home will first open at the Santa Paula Agriculture Museum during the Mountain to Sea Jubilee Event on October 21, 2023. The exhibition will also be on view at four additional venues: the Bank of America Performing Arts Center Thousand Oaks on November 11, 2023, Oxnard College (Condor Hall) on November 27, 2023, and the Rancho Simi Activity Center on December 9, 2023.

This exhibition is the culmination of a wide variety of MVC programs and events that have taken place throughout Ventura County as part of its 150th Anniversary celebration.

The contemporary photographers and artists contributing to the exhibition are, Ben Bribriesca, Cristian Castro, Jorge Corralejo, Blake Fagan, Leah Mata Fragua, Porfirio Gutierrez, MB Hanrahan, Oliver Krisch, Trinh Mai, Cris Mejia, Amy Oliver, Liisa Pynnonen, Zaydee Sanchez, George Sandoval, and Amadeo Sumano.

Co-presented by the County of Ventura and Ventura County Community Foundation. 

This exhibit made possible by California Humanities, the City of Santa Paula, the City of Simi Valley, Harrison Industries, Limoneira, Meissner, the Port of Hueneme, TOLD Corporation, Ventura County Credit Union, Ventura County Community College District, and many more.