January 6, 2017
A Message from Interim Executive Director Elena Brokaw
First of all, let me thank you for bearing with us during this time of transition. During our gallery closure, we’ve been able to Re-Imagine our use of space, Re-Discover more items in our vast collection to display, Re-Vitalize our mission and vision, and most importantly, Re-Connect with the community.
Our top priority has been to increase exhibit space where we can, so that we can share more of the history of Ventura County with visitors. Secondly, we are re-directing how people move through the museum. Starting in our main lobby, which will feature more art and historical visuals than before, visitors will proceed to the courtyard, where the museum experience begins. This open space has undergone a beautiful transformation, and will feature a large-scale historic timeline mural being created by local artist Ryan Carr. Also, live trees are being placed in the courtyard that evoke the Mission Orchard that existed on our site in the 1800s. From there, visitors proceed to the Chumash gallery, to learn about the region’s history in a more chronological manner. With this new configuration, the Smith Gallery, housing our wonderful collection of George Stuart Historical Figures is much more accessible and prominent!
We are especially excited to share more of our storied collection with the public. As you probably know, our collection of fine art and artifacts, numbering over 30,000 objects, was started by Dr. Cephas Bard in 1913. Like many museums, we are only able to display a small percentage of our collection at one time. However, we want to show as many of our objects–that tell the important stories of Ventura County–as possible. The Museum of Ventura County serves, educates and represents everyone in the County. We hope that you will learn something when you come here, and especially, that your experiences and your identity are reflected here. It’s a tall order, but that’s our job.