In recent years, numerous digitization projects have been carried out that led to the proliferation of online collections. Archives, museums and libraries are now facing the challenge to broaden the reach of their digitized inventories while also providing new modes of engagement with the cultural artifacts. Digital representation is increasingly seen as a unique perspective on culture that implies a value of its own. As visualization technology is starting to get applied to cultural collections, there are interesting challenges and opportunities for visualization research in the context of the mediation of culture. In this talk, I will present results from the VIKUS research project, in which we are investigating the potential of visual interfaces to cultural collections. The aim is to reveal the richness and complexity of such 'data' and do justice to their cultural significance. We approach digital cultural heritage by combining technological possibilities with cultural considerations to develop visualizations and interfaces that open up informative and intriguing perspectives on collections. Thereby, novel representation and interaction techniques are designed and evaluated for their suitability for different scenarios.