I’m Michele Smith, your MOPOP CEO, and I want to share a message about the importance of pop culture preservation and what your support means to our mission.

Pop culture is who we are. It defines us, and we define it. Whether you’re a creator or a fan, MOPOP’s vision is for everyone to recognize and wield their cultural power.

Earlier this year, Paramount Global removed the digital archives of MTV News, effectively erasing public access to pop culture history. The documentation of key pop cultural moments for the past 30 years is now lost to fans, historians, and scholars. This loss is reflective of a larger issue facing our society today — the erasure of our cultural history.  

We are committed to preserving diverse moments in pop culture history through our collection of 84,000+ artifacts and its digitization focusing on our four pillars of music, fashion, film, and gaming. Only with your support can MOPOP continue to ensure that invaluable cultural content is preserved and accessible for future generations.

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Digital archiving is essential not only for preservation, but for making historical and cultural content accessible to a global audience. It helps to democratize access to information and ensures that anyone with internet access can learn from and enjoy cultural heritage, regardless of geographical and socioeconomic barriers. When the availability of cultural heritage is controlled by a few, the potential for loss or restriction of access can have far-reaching consequences.  

Cultural institutions like MOPOP are leaders in preservation, but only a fraction of our collection is currently accessible online. We need your support to continue to expand our digital archives. Your year-end gift today helps ensure that diverse pop culture stories are shared and preserved through our Online Collection Vault, exhibitions, community programs, and more.  

Give a gift now to help us continue preserving and sharing our pop culture heritage. Together we can ensure that our pop culture stories continue to be celebrated and remain accessible for all.

With gratitude,

Michele Y. Smith  
Chief Executive Officer