The art of saving venice
Save Venice, Inc. is a non-profit organization that raises money to fund the restoration and preservation of notable architectural structures and paintings within Venice. Melissa Conn is the associate director of Save Venice, Inc. in the Venice office. Melissa’s job is to do a lot of the coordination and paperwork in order to get the proper approval to restore certain structures in Venice. Essentially she covers a lot of the legal processing for the office. Since Melissa is an American and is fluent in both English and Italian, she serves as the liaison between the New York and Venice offices as well (Conn). Both art and architecture are huge components of history and culture. Considering that the nature of Melissa’s work incorporates both of these, I would consider her to be an advocate of Venice. According to its website, Save Venice has “raised more than 20 million dollars to restore over 400 works of art and architecture in Venice” (History). Melissa has been directly involved in much of this success. Through both the work she does for the city and the fact that she has been a resident of two different nations, Melissa has a lot of insight into what it really means to be an active and mobile citizen.
Melissa first came to Venice as a student studying abroad in the Casa Artom house with Wake Forest. While studying abroad, she spent many weekends in Venice rather than traveling with her class mates. This allowed her to develop a strong attachment to the city. It was during this time that she met many locals and local students including the man that would later become her husband. After returning to the United States and graduating, Melissa spent a year working at the Smithsonian in Washington DC before deciding to return to Venice as a graduate student. She came back to Venice with a plan to work as an au pair and go to graduate school for a year for either art history or art administration. It was during this time that she got involved with Save Venice, Inc. She initially started off as a volunteer but was eventually hired at the New York office. In 1991 Melissa was transferred to the Venice office which marked her permanent move to Venice (Conn).
Jonathan Tisch, the author of Citizen You: Doing Your Part to Change the World, once said, “Citizen Activists look in the mirror, see what they’re really good at and then apply their talents to solving social problems” (Lundborg). The work that Melissa does with Save Venice, Inc. makes her an active citizen not only of her community and her city but globally as well. Melissa actively uses her knowledge of art history to serve her community in the best way that she knows how. History and culture are things that everyone can share and learn from. By preserving these aspects of the city she is actively sharing the rich history that the city has to offer with the rest of the world. On a smaller level she is a good citizen due to the fact that she helps the local economy in a number of ways. Venice is very apparently a city that is fueled by tourism. The work that she does contributes to the restoration of the city which helps to sustain tourism. In addition, she promotes the local community and economy by trying to hire local students and restorers.
As an immigrant from America to Italy, Melissa has experience with being a mobile citizen. Though she never legally changed citizenship, she does have permanent residency in Venice. When speaking with her I asked her why she had never gotten a change in citizenship. She explained to me that even though she has a strong sense of duty to the city of Venice and her community, she doesn’t quite have the same affinity for Italy. Apparently there are many American immigrants that she knows who feel the same way. Were they given the option to have a Venetian citizenship then they would change citizenship, but since that’s not an option they just maintain the legal status that they already have. Melissa still legally identifies as an American citizen, and she even votes during the presidential elections. Her children have dual citizenships and have both expressed the desire to possibly move to America one day (Conn). In this sense, Melissa is a mobile citizen who embraces multiple nations, languages, and cultures.
Melissa Conn has demonstrated through her actions, the work she does in her community, and experience with global mobility that she is an overall good, active, and mobile citizen. She consistently demonstrates the qualities that any diligently active citizen should possess.
Melissa first came to Venice as a student studying abroad in the Casa Artom house with Wake Forest. While studying abroad, she spent many weekends in Venice rather than traveling with her class mates. This allowed her to develop a strong attachment to the city. It was during this time that she met many locals and local students including the man that would later become her husband. After returning to the United States and graduating, Melissa spent a year working at the Smithsonian in Washington DC before deciding to return to Venice as a graduate student. She came back to Venice with a plan to work as an au pair and go to graduate school for a year for either art history or art administration. It was during this time that she got involved with Save Venice, Inc. She initially started off as a volunteer but was eventually hired at the New York office. In 1991 Melissa was transferred to the Venice office which marked her permanent move to Venice (Conn).
Jonathan Tisch, the author of Citizen You: Doing Your Part to Change the World, once said, “Citizen Activists look in the mirror, see what they’re really good at and then apply their talents to solving social problems” (Lundborg). The work that Melissa does with Save Venice, Inc. makes her an active citizen not only of her community and her city but globally as well. Melissa actively uses her knowledge of art history to serve her community in the best way that she knows how. History and culture are things that everyone can share and learn from. By preserving these aspects of the city she is actively sharing the rich history that the city has to offer with the rest of the world. On a smaller level she is a good citizen due to the fact that she helps the local economy in a number of ways. Venice is very apparently a city that is fueled by tourism. The work that she does contributes to the restoration of the city which helps to sustain tourism. In addition, she promotes the local community and economy by trying to hire local students and restorers.
As an immigrant from America to Italy, Melissa has experience with being a mobile citizen. Though she never legally changed citizenship, she does have permanent residency in Venice. When speaking with her I asked her why she had never gotten a change in citizenship. She explained to me that even though she has a strong sense of duty to the city of Venice and her community, she doesn’t quite have the same affinity for Italy. Apparently there are many American immigrants that she knows who feel the same way. Were they given the option to have a Venetian citizenship then they would change citizenship, but since that’s not an option they just maintain the legal status that they already have. Melissa still legally identifies as an American citizen, and she even votes during the presidential elections. Her children have dual citizenships and have both expressed the desire to possibly move to America one day (Conn). In this sense, Melissa is a mobile citizen who embraces multiple nations, languages, and cultures.
Melissa Conn has demonstrated through her actions, the work she does in her community, and experience with global mobility that she is an overall good, active, and mobile citizen. She consistently demonstrates the qualities that any diligently active citizen should possess.