Your Story Matters

As the people and communities of Los Angeles navigate a historically challenging time, powerful movements are driving action to address and eradicate long-standing injustices, including stark disparities spotlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Stories and voices matter in this time of extraordinary crises, experiences, and social change.

NHMLAC is committed to being an institution of, for, and with L.A., and reflecting the present moment from your perspective, through your story.

Like many museums, our history collections have often interpreted history and culture primarily from a white, Western European viewpoint. It’s time for us to listen and learn from you. With Your Story Matters, we are committed to being inclusive and want to hear—and with your permission, share—your stories because they are important and will help learners, researchers, scholars and all of us as we reflect on these tumultuous times. We hope that people will see themselves reflected in these stories, and understand our historic times through your images and words.

If you’re not sure where to start, try answering some of these questions:

What are your experiences in these historic times? Have you engaged in new ways to self-care during the safer-at-home ordinance?
Has your access to nature changed, and how has that affected you?
Are you protesting for justice and fighting for social change?
If so, can you speak about what it is like to do so during a pandemic?

Whether it’s a photo or a video, an audio recording, or the written word, we want to know what you’re going through. If you’re submitting media, tell us when and where you recorded it, as well as why you’re including it if you are comfortable doing so. We aim to build a community-based collection that mirrors the vibrant and richly diverse community of people who call L.A. home.

Here are some examples of submissions:

Milena, Covina

“Positivity Window” by Donna, Torrance

Courtney, Culver City

"A Better Me” by Anonymous, Los Angeles

“Harvesting Resilience” by Jennifer, Eagle Rock

Richard, Mid-Wilshire.

Anonymous, West Hollywood

“Notes from a pandemic” by Melinda, Pasadena

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Milena, Covina

“Positivity Window” by Donna, Torrance

Courtney, Culver City

"A Better Me” by Anonymous, Los Angeles

“Harvesting Resilience” by Jennifer, Eagle Rock

Richard, Mid-Wilshire.

Anonymous, West Hollywood

“Notes from a pandemic” by Melinda, Pasadena

Ready to tell us your story?

Click here to submit using our webform.

Frequently asked questions:

It’s up to you, and we expect submitted materials to come in a lot of different formats. You can type short answers directly onto the form. But you can also write something and upload a file, make a short audio or video recording, or submit a photograph, a drawing, a poem, or an image of a handwritten journal page.

Please do consider submitting these! You will see a question on the form that asks you whether you are submitting your own materials or your children’s (or both). If you are submitting something your children made, you will also be asked to enter their names and ages.

If you're submitting something you made with other people and you don't think our form covers your situation, you can also put this information in the box that says "What else would you like to add about your experience?".

We want to know how the pandemic is affecting the whole L.A. community. That will be different for everyone who submits. That might include how your daily life has changed, what you’re feeling, whether you’re going to work or not, what it’s like to be out of work, or anything else that you think describes your experience right now.

Imagine that you have a chance to talk to someone who lived in Los Angeles during the 1918 flu pandemic. What would you ask them?

Yes, you can use the form to submit several kinds of materials. You can also submit the form more than once. We know that your story may change, and we welcome your updates and changes as our community moves through this historic time. If you do submit the form more than once, please check the option that says you're not submitting for the first time, so we can add your new story to your previous one.

You are welcome to submit images of these now through our form. But we are also interested in collecting some actual objects related to the pandemic experience in Los Angeles. We can’t do this right now, because our staff are working from home. If you have actual objects you’re interested in donating to the museum for this project, please check the box on the form so that one of our staff can get in touch with you about what you have and whether it fits the project.

Please do not send objects to us at the museum until a staff member asks you to do so.

Your story will become a part of NHMLAC’s permanent History Collection. It may be used in exhibitions or programming that the museum creates either now or in the future. It may also be used by scholars who are researching the impact of the pandemic on our community.

Many museums around the world are running similar projects in their own communities. Your voice will become part of a global effort to tell the story of what’s happening in the world right now.