PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Steve McLean
Senior Director of Strategic Communications
(206) 623-5124 x 104
smclean@wingluke.org
WING LUKE MUSEUM CELEBRATES HERITAGE MONTH FOR ASIAN AMERICANS, NATIVE HAWAIIANS, AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS
SEATTLE, WA - April 30, 2024 — This annual observation is a time to reflect and honor the continuing and lasting presence of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander stories and experiences in US American history, culture, arts, and everyday life. Wing Luke Museum invites all to celebrate and experience community joy in learning something new!
If you're looking for ways to support community organizations and programs during AANHPI Heritage Month, consider donating to Wing Luke Museum during this year's GiveBig campaign (or becoming a monthly sustainer), visiting the Marketplace, planning a visit to the historic Chinatown-International District, or becoming a sponsor. Beyond the month of May, sign up for our Newsletter and stay tuned to our Events Calendar year-round.
Find a list of various Seattle-area events and happenings during AANHPI Heritage month below.
COMMUNITY STORIES
Here are the stories from community members making their mark in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District. Read more in the linked pages.
Sue Kay, Activist & Community Leader, and Maliha Masood, Writer & Educator
Activist Sue Kay embodies intergenerational learning in her work and community. A self-described “Yelder” (Young Elder), Sue credits her growing knowledge of social justice issues to her young activist friends, while holding the rich, storied history of her family’s three generations in Seattle. Author Maliha Masood has been involved with four different exhibits at Wing Luke Museum, most recently in Hello Auntie, Hello Uncle, an exploration of our personal understanding of what aging means for our own lives.
Såhi Velasco, Artist, Guma’ Gela’ Collective
Såhi Velasco’s work, as a co-founding member of the Guma’ Gela’ Collective, teaching artist at the Wing Luke Museum, and as an Artist-in-Residence at King Street Station, is healing. “My work here in Seattle has always been rooted in community and in particular, Pacific Islander Communities, CHamoru Communities, Queer and Trans, Black and Indigenous Communities and being able to reflect portraits that define connection, relationships.”
THINGS TO DO IN MAY: AT THE MUSEUM & BEYOND
Chinatown-International District Walking Tours
Saturdays, 11:30 AM - 1 PM | Wing Luke Museum offers drop-in walking tours and historic Museum tours. Please note that we have limited availability of 15 slots per tour offered at first come, first served. Please reach out to tours@wingluke.org for groups of 7+.
Private tours are great opportunities for historically rich and culturally relevant experiences and discussions with experts of Seattle’s AANHPI history. Please reach out to tours@wingluke.org and note that private tours slots book quickly through late June.
Spring Market at Wing Luke Museum
Saturday, May 25, 11 AM - 3 PM | The Second Annual Spring Market in the Wing Luke Museum Community Hall will highlight Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander local vendors, artists, and organizations including Iwalani’s Creations, Melted Porcelain, Heliaki Co, and Roldy Aguero Ablao. Attend a free lei-making craft table and visit with community partner United Territories of Pacific Islanders Alliance Washington (UTOPIA Washington).
Exhibition: Woven Together: Stories of Burma/Myanmar
Closing May 19 | This Burmese community shares the rich and diverse stories of who they are, where they came from, and their emerging identity as Burmese Americans. Although their ancestral homeland is known as Burma or Myanmar, their stories have more than just two sides – their diversity defies a simple definition of who they are as Burmese Americans.
Redlining Heritage Trail Walking Tours
Select Saturdays, 11:30 AM - 1 PM | Though many believe Seattle as a liberal city, the history of redlining and the road towards open housing has been a long struggle. The history of redlining and the Civil Rights movement in Seattle is necessary as we continue to explore themes of gentrification and displacement. Learn about housing exclusion in Seattle’s historic Black and Brown communities. Private tours are available on request at tours@wingluke.org.
Book Talk at Wing Luke Museum: Carla Crujido, Tessa Hulls, Lucy Tan, Jane Wong, and Kimi Rutledge
Saturday, May 4, 2 - 4 PM | Writers Carla Crujido (The Strange Beautiful), Tessa Hulls (Feeding Ghosts), Lucy Tan (What We Were Promised), and Jane Wong (Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City) read and share from their recent books. This talk will be moderated by Kimi Rutledge.
Have you seen new banners and signs in Seattle's Nihonmachi this spring? The former Ichiban sign that hangs on the corner of 6th and Main has a new look and now welcomes visits to Seattle's Japantown! Take a walk and see what's new in the neighborhood and visit old-time favorites like Maneki and Kobo at Higo!
Kodomo no Hi with the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington
Sunday, May 5, 11 AM - 5 PM | Hosted by the JCCCW, this free-to-attend annual festival connects children and families in the community with Japanese and Japanese American culture, art, history, food, and music. The theme of this year’s event is “Celebrating the Health and Growth of Children” highlighting the importance of children’s physical and mental health with activities including a sumo demonstration, board games, and kendama.
Cambodian Cultural Museum at Wing Luke Museum
The newly updated exhibition features brand new pieces from Khmer American artists Darozyl Touch, Sophia Som and Bunthay Cheam who answer what it is like to be a member of the diaspora and what it is like to approach art and history with hope for a collective future.
Other Exhibitions at Wing Luke Museum
Be sure to check out the Bruce Lee Exhibit, the vibrant and meditative Guma’ Gela’: Part Land, Part Sea, All Ancestry Exhibit featuring the collective works of the Guma’ Gela and Sound Check! The Music We Make that has been drawing visitors from across the country and world to see their favorite bands and artists highlighted.
YouthCAN Exhibition: Portraits of Places
YouthCAN is the Wing Luke Museum's free after-school arts program for high school students. This school year, students learned about the fabric of the CID neighborhood, historic and current-day struggles. Their work is now on display in the Frank Fujii Youth Gallery.
Filipino Community Center AANHPI Family Book Event
Sunday, May 19, 11 AM - 4 PM | A free literary event featuring local authors with children’s books exploring themes of identity, culture, and a sense of belonging. This event includes book readings and activities for children and families. Featured authors include Annie Cheng, Lori Matsukawa, Suma Subramaniam, and Cindy Wong.
50th Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF)
In Theaters May 9 – 19, Streaming May 20 – 27 | Celebrate 50 years of cinema at the Seattle International Film Festival with special features from the Asian and Pacific Islander diaspora, including Food Roots, Moloka'i Bound, and Standing Above the Clouds.
Saturday, May 25, 3 – 4 PM | American Sikh is a short animation feature created by Ryan Westra and Vishavjit Singh telling the true story of an American-born, turban-wearing Sikh illustrator, writer, performance artist, diversity speaker and creator of Sikhtoons.com, Vishavjit Singh, who after a lifetime of facing prejudice, self-doubt and violence, finally finds acceptance in a superhero costume.
Mariners AANHPI Heritage Night
Wednesday, May 29 | T-Mobile Park recognizes the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities here in Seattle and across the Pacific Northwest. With this special offer, $5 of every ticket sold will benefit the Wing Luke Museum and you’ll have the chance to pick up a limited-edition Mariners-themed AANHPI T-shirt.
Tastes of Chinatown-International District Food Tour
Fridays, 4 - 6:30 PM | The Taste of Chinatown Tour was originally created by Vi Mar when the neighborhood was at a crossroads. After the Wah-Mee tragedy in 1983, the neighborhood faced negative stigma, perceptions, and unfair assumptions about safety and the character of our neighborhood. Vi Mar rallied folks around the food and flavors of the community she loved. She brought groups of folks to fall in love with the business and restaurants as well. We are returning to our roots as we evolve our food tours to fit our current neighborhood.
Exhibition: Hello Auntie, Hello Uncle
Wing Luke Museum’s newest exhibit Hello Auntie, Hello Uncle celebrates the lives, achievements, and wisdom of community Elders in AANHPI communities. This exhibit, sponsored by AARP, explores what a society that values and supports Elders might look like and celebrates the caregivers and organizations that are making that world possible with community stories.
Virtual: Asian American Music, Sound, and Scholarship Festival
Saturday, May 11, 9 AM - 2 PM | Tune in for final presentations of research on Asian American music and dance from the Music of Asian America Research Center who strives to empower communities through collecting, promoting, and teaching music created by Asian Americans.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Densho - Preserving Japanese American stories of the past for the generations of tomorrow.
ICHS - Health care welcoming to all in need regardless of health, language, immigration status, or ability to pay.
Asian Mental Health Collective - Resource for finding an Asian Therapist and joining the Lotus Therapy Fund
Support For AA&NH/PI Communities In Seattle – Resources in the broader Seattle area courtesy of Visit Seattle.
Ten Thousand Things with Shin Yu Pai - Podcast about about modern-day artifacts of Asian American life.
BOOK LIST
A collection of books that center AANHPI stories of resilience and wellbeing. In the spirt of celebrating culture and joy we also uplift our journeys of grief and healing. Find these books in our Marketplace or online here.
Ask the Brindled, No'u Revilla
No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies, Julian Aguon
Penina Uliuli: Contemporary Challenges in Mental Health for Pacific Peoples, Margaret Nelson Agee
Ka Māno Wai: The Source of Life, Noreen K. Mokuau, S. Kukunaokalā Yoshimoto, and Kathryn L. Braun; photographs by Shuzo Uemoto
Nervous, Essays on Heritage and Healing, Jen Soriano
Fierce Vulnerability: Direct Action and Heals and Transforms, Kazu Haga
Where I Belong: healing Trauma and Embracing Asian American Identity, Soo Jin Lee
SUPPORTING WING LUKE MUSEUM
Donations - All financial gifts greatly help our exhibits, programs, and community work, and we're deeply grateful for them. Make a one-time gift, or take your gift a step further by making it monthly.
Employee Matching - Many companies will double or even triple your gift to the Wing Luke Museum by matching your contribution; some will match the gifts of retirees as well. Contact your Human Resources department to see if your company matches gifts or email donations@wingluke.org for more information.
Membership - Become a member and explore all that the museum has to offer, including exhibit sneak peeks and discounted tours. Learn more.
Sponsorships or Corporate Memberships - Sponsor an event or provide your staff with an easy way to visit the Museum through a corporate membership! Learn more.
ABOUT WING LUKE MUSEUM
The Wing Luke Museum’s mission is to connect everyone to the rich history, dynamic cultures and art of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders through vivid storytelling and inspiring experiences to advance racial and social equity. As a Smithsonian Affiliate, National Park Service Affiliated Area, and the only pan-Asian American Museum in the nation, The Wing Luke Museum is a national treasure, preserving and sharing the personal stories of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.
Read about Wing Luke Museum’s 2023 Season in our Annual Report.