New Exhibit at Wing Luke Museum Inspires Civic Participation

by Soumya Gupta

As the country enters the final months of one of most contentious presidential elections in recent history, the Wing Luke Museum is staging an exhibit on the fundamentals and power of voting entitled, "We Can Be Heroes: Voting and Beyond."

The exhibit emphasizes the need for a powerful call for action, encouraging individuals to exercise their right to vote. By the way, the voting period for Washington's Aug. 6 primary election began on Friday, July 19.

The museum has a long history of addressing social issues and ideas, and for over a year, they have worked collectively with local communities to learn their histories and views on voting rights and portray them through the exhibit.

"The last few years were tumultuous, considering the political landscape, and during COVID, people realized that there was a need to vote to speak up," said Wren Wheeler, civic engagement specialist at the Wing Luke Museum. "The big driving force was to get people motivated to vote and exercise their rights, almost like a wake-up call."

In recent years, the political climate in the United States has been highly polarized and tumultuous. Sharp divisions have emerged over key issues such as health care, immigration, racial justice, and climate change. Social movements and protests have highlighted deep societal fractures, while misinformation and partisan media have fueled distrust and discord. The political discourse has often been contentious, reflecting broader cultural and ideological divides within the country. This period has underscored the challenges of achieving consensus and the importance of civic engagement and informed dialogue.

Drawing from this, "We Can Be Heroes: Voting and Beyond" aims to educate individuals on voting rights in this country, providing a blend of historical overviews of political climate over the years, contributions of the AA&NH/PI community in electoral proceedings and committees in Washington, as well as resources and voter guides.

According to AAPI Vote, a nonprofit organization for civic engagement and voting in the AA&NH/PI community, 90% of Asian Americans stated that they plan to vote in the upcoming presidential elections, approximately two-thirds of whom are certain of their intent to vote. This represents a slight decline when compared to previous election years — 93% in 2020 and 94% in 2016.

The newly built exhibit, through multiple text panels, provides a narrative arc into the history and key events around voting rights in the United States, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which extended the right to vote to each citizen of the U.S., irrespective of race or color.

Some other notable events included in the exhibit were the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. The exhibit then transitions into highlighting the several contributions made by members of the AA&NH/PI community to propose laws and participate in electoral procedures in the state of Washington, from Wing Chong Luke's appointment as the first Asian American elected to public office in Seattle in 1982, to Bruce Harrell's appointment as mayor of Seattle in 2021.

Finally, the exhibit also includes a mock electoral ballot called the "Official Unofficial Voting Station," by Aram Han Sifuentes, with further information on the voting registration process and ways to engage with governing systems and local community organizations, including Puget Sound Sage and Asian Pacific Islanders Coalition (APIC).

Additionally, said Wheeler, the exhibit also suggests ways for individuals to run for official positions at the city and county levels, areas promoting understanding of council meetings, voting rights, and policymaking as a way to encourage individuals to raise their voices and vote for what their communities believe in.

"The exhibit encourages people to think about what is important to them, and where they stand on issues they care about," Wheeler said. "But mostly importantly, it motivates them to ask questions."

Wheeler, who was instrumental in the development of the exhibit, said that the planning process started in 2023, involving multiple discussions, fieldwork, and oral history between Wing Luke representatives, community members, as well as the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to develop a blueprint.

CAC was first started by Ron Chew, former executive director of the Wing Luke Museum, and has helped highlight the concerns of minority and underprivileged communities through vivid exhibits.

Aram Han Sifuentes, who worked on the "The Unofficial Voting Station," is a social practice and fiber artist, writer, and educator who works to center immigrant and disenfranchised communities. She aims to confront social and racial injustices against the disenfranchised and riffs off official institutions and bureaucratic processes to reimagine new, inclusive, and humanized systems of civic engagement and belonging.

"The idea and goal behind the exhibit and its name was to remind people that they have the power to participate in change, and by doing so, they're doing something heroic," said Steve McLean, senior director of strategic communications at the Wing Luke Museum.

"We Can Be Heroes: Voting and Beyond" went live on June 14, 2024, and runs at the Wing Luke Museum until Jan. 1, 2025. The exhibit was sponsored by Seattle Foundation and 4Culture, which provides funding and support to cultural work in the King Country region.

"We hope that people, after viewing our exhibit, understand what communities do to celebrate their rights and traditions, and the power that they hold to keep that alive," Wheeler said. "It gives a picture that you're making a difference, and supporting your beliefs in a larger democracy."

This article is published under a Seattle Human Services Department grant, "Resilience Amidst Hate," in response to anti-Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander violence.

📸 Featured Image: The "We Can Be Heroes" voting exhibit. (Photo courtesy of Wing Luke Museum)