The Petaluma Historical Library & Museum will present Belongings: What We Bring, What We Leave Behind — a community-based storytelling exhibit in September, 2026, featuring the voices and treasured belongings of immigrants, refugees, migrants, and displaced people across generations living and contributing in Sonoma County and beyond.

The exhibit invites community members to share meaningful objects connected to journeys of migration, displacement, family, memory, survival, labor and home. These belongings may be simple everyday items, photographs, letters, religious objects, articles of clothing, tools, or heirlooms — objects that carry powerful personal stories passed down across generations.

More than a traditional museum exhibit, Belongings is a collaborative community project created with participants themselves. Stories will be shared in participants’ own words through objects, photographs, audio, video, and public storytelling events, creating connections between elders, parents, children, and future generations.

Why This Project Matters

Throughout history, the stories of immigrants and displaced communities have often been overlooked, erased, or documented only through the lens of outsiders. Yet migration, displacement, and the search for belonging shape nearly every family and community across generations.

Belongings creates space for empathy, human connection, remembrance, intergenerational and cross-cultural dialogue. The exhibit helps preserve community histories that might otherwise be lost while encouraging deeper understanding across cultures and generations.

By centering personal stories and meaningful objects, the exhibit reminds us that behind every migration story is a human being carrying memories, sacrifices, hopes, and connections to home.

Adopt a Storyteller Campaign

We would like to provide honoraria to recognize, support, and encourage participants who might not otherwise be able to afford the time to participate. By donating, you can help sponsor honoraria for one or more participants, expanding the diversity of voices we are able to include.

Your donation will help remove barriers to participation. Many of our participants balance work, caregiving, and financial constraints, making it difficult to contribute their time and knowledge without support. By sponsoring honoraria, you directly empower voices that might otherwise go unheard and help create a more inclusive, diverse, and meaningful gathering. Every contribution makes participation possible for someone.

BeLongings Exhibit and Program

September, 2026