Wing Luke Museum kicks off music exhibit highlighting AANHPI artists

Key details: Titled “Sound Check! The Music We Make,” the interactive music exhibit opened its doors to the public on Sunday and will run through Sept. 14, 2024, according to a press release. Access to the exhibit comes with the museum’s admission price.

Features to expect: Besides the showcase of behind-the-scenes photos, framed artworks, audio and videos that feature AANHPI artists’ expressions of cultural identity, the exhibit also reportedly invites attendees to “build playlists” and “sing karaoke,” Joël Barraquiel Tan, executive director of Wing Luke Museum, told King5.

Some of the artists featured in the exhibit include Kim Thayil and Hiro Yamamoto of Soundgarden, musician Roger Rigor, hip hop artist Geo Quibuyen of Blue Scholars, jazz drummer Akira Tana and Seattle singer/songwriter Carly Ann Calbero.

What they are saying: In a statement, Barraquiel Tan described the excitement surrounding the exhibit as “electric” as AANHPI artists are “historically underrepresented” and are “not the primary focus of music exhibits.”

Other details: Located in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District, Wing Luke Museum is coming out of recovery following an anti-Asian attack on Sept. 14. The perpetrator, Craig Milne, 76, caused over $100,000 in damage by smashing the museum’s windows with a sledgehammer, and was charged with a hate crime and first-degree malicious mischief for the incident.

The city government and the Washington State Department of Commerce both pitched in to support the museum’s recovery after the incident.