International Heritage Collecting Initiative
The mission of the Western Reserve Historical Society is to inspire people to discover the American experience by exploring the tangible history of Northeast Ohio. WRHS staff have been working with ethnic community leaders and experts to develop a storyline and artifact selection that tells the overall history of immigration and the stories of ethnic groups in Northeast Ohio. In addition to the curated objects and images that represent the history of immigration in Northeast Ohio, WRHS will conduct a digital and physical collecting initiative to expand on immigration and migration histories sourced directly from the community.
There are more than 120 ethnic groups in Cleveland, and WRHS is striving to create a space where everyone in NEO can find themselves. Your donations will help us continue to serve the local Cleveland community as a resource for education and exploration.
What to Submit
We invite residents of Cleveland and the surrounding region to share an item or collection of items that they feel represents the story of immigration and migration to Northeast Ohio. Items submitted for the International Heritage Gallery may be in any format, including documents, photos, videos, audio, or objects. Types of objects might include photographs, correspondence, journals, artwork, music, poetry, recipes, or anything that shows how you, your family, or your neighbors celebrate your heritage. Please submit digital files and descriptive information, including a short statement about why you selected this item or items to represent immigration to Northeast Ohio.
Some additional considerations:
- You must own the items, have the right to share the items openly on the web or for public view, or the items must be in the public domain. Public domain works are items that are not protected by intellectual properties laws like copyright or trademark. They belong to the public, meaning that anyone can use them for their respective project without asking for permission or paying royalties.
- You are strongly encouraged to digitally submit accessible items for those with low/no vision or low/no hearing. Such considerations include text documents that have been processed with Optical Character Recognition (OCR), or audio and video files that have been captioned, etc. To learn more about OCR, click here.
- In addition to our standard gift agreement, you have the option to assign a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license to your digital submission, which means that you retain the copyright, but that WRHS and the general public may freely copy, modify, and share these items for noncommercial purposes under the same terms, if they include the original source information.
- The WRHS collections team will assess all donation offers. We do not guarantee that your submission will be accepted into the museum collection. If your donation is accepted, we cannot guarantee it will be exhibited in the gallery. Click here to read our full Collection Policy.
When to Submit
All items submitted by July 31, 2026, will be considered for the initial exhibit opening in the International Heritage Gallery scheduled for late-Fall 2026. We will continue to collect items related to immigration and migration history, and evaluate submissions for exhibit additions and updates, as well as to grow our efforts to collect and document the story of the international heritage of Northeast Ohio.
How to Submit
Submitting a digital or physical item for consideration to the International Heritage Gallery is a three-step process.
Step 1: If you would like to submit items for consideration, please email intlheritage@wrhs.org with a brief description about your items. A WRHS collections team member will review your email and reach out with any questions about your items.
Step 2: Once your items are approved for donation, you may submit them. For digital items, you will submit them directly to our online preservation system (Preservica) using the link you receive via email. For physical items, a curator will email you directly with the appropriate next steps.
Step 3: For both digital and physical items, you will submit descriptive information for your items via an online Microsoft Form. If donating digital items, you will receive an email through our online preservation system (Preservica) that will contain a link to the Microsoft Form to submit basic information about your items. If donating physical items, you will receive an email from a curator with a link to the same Microsoft Form to complete.
The materials you share may become a part of the collections of Western Reserve Historical Society. Please follow this link to review the full WRHS gift agreement.
Descriptive Information Form
The last section on the descriptive information form asks you to provide your reasoning for selecting the item you selected, as well as information about the International Heritage Gallery theme that you feel your resource best represents. Please select your preferred theme based on the following descriptions:
Celebrations: Northeast Ohio has been home to a myriad of cultural celebrations that enable immigrants and migrants to take pride in their heritage. Our first cultural celebration was likely the 1842 St. Patrick’s Day celebration, which paved the way for events like the Asian Lantern Festival, La Placita outdoor markets, the Polish-American Dyngus Day, and the annual One World Day in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens. How have you and your family celebrated your cultural heritage in Cleveland? Send us items related to festivals, events, holidays, performances, religion, and social clubs.
Dress: Clothing offers the ability to not only express yourself, but also to express your heritage. From clothes worn around the home to traditional dress worn for performances, garments can reveal the intricacies of identity, as well as time and place. What activities and celebrations have your immigrant or migrant family dressed for? You might submit traditional garments or clothing that represents your culture. This theme also encompasses everyday garments worn by immigrants and migrants, as well as accessories, jewelry, dolls, sewing crafts, and related photos and ephemera.
Food: From family dinners to trying something new at a local restaurant, food can both unite us and open us up to new experiences. Immigration and migration have expanded Northeast Ohio’s cuisine, such as the Italian cuisine at Primo Vino that boosted the visibility of Little Italy in 1982, and the Bhutanese dishes you can order today at Himalayan Restaurant. Do you have a favorite meal unique to your culture, or memories of making food with family? Share recipes, cookbooks, cooking tools, food packaging, aprons, table and cookware, and cooking videos and photos.
Labor & Legacy: Immigrants have historically filled critical labor gaps in fields like healthcare, construction, agriculture, and entrepreneurship, in turn supporting the economic growth of America. We aim to recognize the diverse past and ongoing labor contributions of skilled immigrant and migrant workers: Italian stonecutters, small businesses like House of Wills funeral home and Rose Iron Works, the culinary expertise of chef Louis A. Gonzalez at the Hollenden Hotel and Canterbury Golf Club, and artists like Frederic Gottwald and Otto Bacher. What work do you and your family take pride in? Submit work tools, merchandise from small businesses, and craft work and supplies (woodworking, metalsmithing, pottery, weaving, etc.).
Music: By offering their unique musical talents to Northeast Ohio, immigrants and migrants have provided an opportunity to experience their culture in a creative and engaging way. Cleveland has become “America’s Polka Capital” thanks to Eastern European immigrants sharing their music in festivals and over the airwaves on WZAK. The first major rock concert was hosted at the Cleveland Arena in 1952, with performances from “Tiny” Grimes of the Art Tatum Trio and The Dominoes. Without the introduction of jazz and rock-and-roll to Cleveland by Black migrants from the South, there would be no Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. How has music played a role in your connection to culture? Send us instruments, sheet music, audio and video performance recordings, programs, and anything pertaining to dance and music performance venues.
Sports: Whereas now we unite around teams like the Cavs and Guardians, immigrants and migrants gathered at neighborhood athletic clubs for exercise and sport at places like the Hiram House Social Settlement and Bohemian National Hall. Whether we’re on the field or watching from the stands, sports games and leagues help us to make connections within our communities. Athletes in Northeast Ohio, like boxer John “Johnny” Risko and track-and-field star Jesse Owens, have made a lasting impact on immigrant and migrant representation. What cultural connections can you make to sports? Send us your equipment, uniforms, fan-made memorabilia, and anything related to community leagues and teams.
Questions?
Please contact intlheritage@wrhs.org with any questions. We look forward to collaborating with you to develop this exhibit.
