LA CULTURE
Viva la Museum Why a visit to the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles is a trip you should make By Mi chae l J . Pa l l e r i no
Captain America Directors Joe and Anthony Russo
Photos courtesy of IAMLA
I t wasn’t until college that Marianna Gatto learned about the building on the edge of downtown Los Angeles. Constructed in 1908, the Italian Hall once was a vaunted community gathering place. It was the early 1990s when Gatto took her first stroll through the building, immediately falling in love with the architecture, history, and immense sense of presence that exuded from every corner. At the time, Gatto envisioned the Hall as a great museum—a site where local Italian Americans could once again gather and commiserate. She was so taken with the experience that it would prompt her further research endeavors as a historian. “In Los Angeles, there aren’t as many mirrors for Italian Americans, as say New York or Boston. My place within the LA ethnocultural mosaic was a riddle for me. I said to myself, ‘I want to be the director of this place.’” More than two decades later, Gatto serves as the Executive Director-Historian of the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles (IAMLA), which now is on the National Register of Historic Places. After working for the city overseeing museums, she accepted a job as the Director of IAMLA in 2010. From that day on, her mission has been to help the Museum foster understanding of the nation’s diverse cultural heritage through research, historic preservation, exhibitions, and educational programs, as well as promote cultural equity and inclusion. “The IAMLA speaks as much to the United States as a nation of immigrants as it does to the Italian American experiences and Southern California or Italian American history.” Take one of IAMLA’s most popular exhibitions, which examines anti-Italianism in the United States. The exhibition casts a light on the time when Italian immigrants were viewed as threats to the American way
also offers a variety of temporary exhibitions, which include topics such as Italian Americans in animation, the cultural-religious tradition of St. Joseph’s tables and the “Sicilian Cart: History in Movement,” a collaboration between IAMLA, the Musca Museum of Sicily, and Dolce & Gabbana. Free and open to the public, IAMLA also offers a number of educational programs—including film screenings, lectures, workshops, site-based activities, and curricula—as well as the “Taste of Italy,” an annual upscale Italian food and wine event. And if you love entertainment, there are exhibits dedicated to Lady Gaga’s custom-made Donatella Versace robe from the Born This Way tour, the shield from Captain America Civil War , directed by brothers Joe and Anthony Russo, and Rudolph Valentino’s typewriter. In addition, all of IAMLA’s collection is searchable online, including thousands of objects, images, and archival documents. “COVID led us to present even more programs virtually, and we have an incredible archive of online events, from cooking instruction to webinars and lectures,” Gatto says. “We look forward to being able to resume more of our in-person programming and seeing more of our visitors return.” As for her favorite part of the Museum, it is hard to box Gatto in. “That’s a tough question. I love its historic fabric—from the speakeasy door that’s a remnant of when the building housed an illicit bar during prohibition, to its mosaic floors. I also love our temporary exhibition wing. We are able to transform it into so many different experiences and showcase different subject matters that invariably lead to those Aha! moments.”
of life, serving as targets of hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan and deemed “enemy aliens” during World War II. “People are shocked when they see this exhibition,” Gatto says. “High school students in particular draw comparisons between anti-immigrant rhetoric of today and that of yesteryears.” Along with these struggles, the Museum showcases many examples of beauty, art, and passion Italian Americans have contributed. IAMLA is a festival for the eyes—a 21st Century, interactive museum that features award-winning exhibitions accessible both in person and online (thanks to its partnership with Google). IAMLA based activities, and curricula—as well as the “Taste of Italy,”an annual upscale Italian food and wine event. ” IAMLA also offers a number of educational programs—including film screenings, lectures, workshops, site-
www.iamla.org
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