Wing Luke Asian Museum - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience is located in Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

's Chinatown-International District. A Smithsonian Institution affiliate, it is dedicated to engaging the public to explore issues related to the culture, art and history of Asian Pacific American

Asian Pacific American

Asian-Pacific American or Asian-Pacific Islander is a term sometimes used in the United States to include both Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans....

s. It is the only pan-Asian Pacific American

Asian Pacific American

Asian-Pacific American or Asian-Pacific Islander is a term sometimes used in the United States to include both Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans....

community-based museum in America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, highlighting the issues and life-experiences of one of the fastest-growing racial groups in the United States

The museum is named in honor of the late Seattle City Council member Wing Luke

Wing Luke

Wing Chong Luke was Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. state of Washington in the Civil Rights Division from 1957 to 1962, and a member of the Seattle City Council from March 13, 1962, to his death in 1965. He was the first Asian American to hold elected office in the state.- History :Luke was...

, who was the first Asian American

Asian American

Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...

elected to public office in the Pacific Northwest

Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...

. Luke suggested the need for a museum in the C-ID in the early 1960s to preserve the history of the rapidly changing neighborhood. After Luke died in a small plane crash in 1965, friends and supporters donated funds to start the museum he envisioned. The Wing Luke Memorial Museum, as it was first named, opened in 1967 in a small storefront on 8th Ave.

Initially the museum focused on Asian folk art

Folk art

Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....

, but soon expanded its programming to reflect the diversity of the local community. Almost from the beginning art was integral to its programming and the museum served as a venue for emerging local artists. By the 1980s pan-Asian exhibits generated by community volunteers became central to the museum.

In 1987 The Wing Luke moved to a larger home on 7th Ave and updated its name to Wing Luke Asian Museum. It achieved national recognition in the 1990s under the direction of local journalist Ron Chew

Ron Chew

Ron Chew is a consultant and community organizer in Seattle, Washington Chew is a leader in the community based model of museum exhibit development.-Biography:...

, a pioneer of the community based model of exhibit development that placed personal experiences at the center of exhibit narratives. Today the museum continues to present exhibits and programs that promote social justice, multicultural understanding and tolerance.

In 2008 the museum relocated to its new much larger home at 719 S King St, housed in the renovated 1910 East Kong Yick Building

East Kong Yick Building

The East Kong Yick Building is one of two buildings erected in Seattle, Washington's Chinatown-International District by the Kong Yick Investment Company . A four-story hotel in the core of the ID, with retail stores at ground level, the East Kong Yick was created by the pooled resources of 170...

. The new Wing Luke Asian Museum continues its work addressing civil rights and social justice issues while also preserving historic spaces within the building including the former Gee How Oak Tin

Family association

Generally, a family association or family organization is an organization formed by people who share a common ancestor or surname. They join together for a variety of purposes including exchanging genealogical information, sharing current news about family members, having reunions, and promoting...

Association room, the Freeman SRO Hotel, a Canton Alley family apartment, and the Yick Fung Mercantile.

In 2010 the museum changed its official name to The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, informally "The Wing."

External links

Wing Luke Asian Museum, official site
Charlene Mano, "The Wing Luke Asian Museum" Brown Quarterly, v1 n3 (Spring 1997.)
Ron Chew: The Community as Curator
Smithsonian Affiliate Wing Luke Asian Museum

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See also

External links