Arizona Tribune - Exhibit Highlighting Native Hawaiian Culture and Heritage Opens at Wing Luke Museum

SEATTLE, WA / ACCESS Newswire / June 5, 2025 / The Wing Luke Museum is pleased to announce its most recent exhibit, DISplace, opening on June 13, 2025 and closing on Jan. 4, 2027. A reception for members and special guests will be held on Saturday, June 14, from 1-3 p.m. in the Museum's Community Hall. According to exhibit text "'Dis place' - this place - is a nod to the pride and resilience of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities in light of displacement from their original homelands.

Co-curated by artists Lehuauakea and Kanani Miyamoto, DISplace speaks directly to the growing number of Native Hawaiians who live in the continental US and reclaims narratives overlooked for generations while honoring the resilience of Kānaka Maoli - Native Hawaiians. With carefully curated Native Hawaiian art and other content, the exhibit enables Native Hawaiian communities - who have lost connection to their heritage and culture - the opportunity to authentically reconnect to their history, culture, and identity.

Lehuauakea, who now lives in New Mexico, and Kanani Miyamoto, who resides in Oregon, are both mixed Native Hawaiian and have roots in Hawai'i. This exhibit draws deeply from their own experiences and sense of longing, which inspired them to engage and build community with others who now call the Pacific Northwest (PNW) home. By presenting larger historical and cultural context and a sense of mutual belonging, the curators hope to rebuild stronger connections to Native Hawaiian history and culture.

"When folks find out that someone moved from Hawai'i to be in the PNW, the reaction is often of shock or confusion, wondering why we'd ever 'choose to leave paradise'," Lehuauakea explains. "The unfortunate reality for many of us is that these are often not entirely voluntary relocations, with many of us being priced out of our homes in Hawaiʻi due to socioeconomic circumstances that have accumulated over decades. The result is displacement from our ancestral homelands and culture in alarming numbers. DISplace speaks to those facts of relocation throughout history."

The storytelling and exhibit message are incredibly powerful and relevant, given the significant migration of Native Hawaiians to the Pacific Northwest in the late 1700s (and to the present day). Nearly 68,000 Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders live in Washington state, and U.S. Census data shows more Native Hawaiians live in the continental United States than in Hawai'i.

"As more Native Hawaiians leave the homeland, their connections to heritage, culture, and art become more distant," says the Museum's Interim Executive Director, Kamahanahokulani Farrar Law, who is also Native Hawaiian. "Though there is no substitute for returning home, DISplace's rich and visual storytelling does offer powerful opportunities to reflect and reconnect. We are excited about the collaboration with Lehuauakea and Kanani to highlight the significant but often unrecognized Native Hawaiian presence in the region, dating back hundreds of years. I hope community members, whether they are Native Hawaiian or from other places, have the opportunity to experience this potent exhibit."

Eleven artists featured in the art exhibit include Keliko K.M. Adams, Ha'aheo Auwae-Dekker, Daphne Kauahi'ilani Jenkins, Nyomi Iwalani José, Lōkela Alexander Minami, Brandon Naihe, Malia Peoples, Cris Romento, Shaka Funk Design Co., Miki'ala Souza, and Bruce Clayton Tom.

NOTE: Media interested in attending the members-only event should contact Stephen McLean, Senior Director of Strategic Communications at [email protected], or Sage Quiamno at [email protected]

About The 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. 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. In 2025, the Museum will celebrate the 100^th birthday of Wing Chong Luke, our namesake and Washington state's first Asian American to hold elected office. To learn more about the Museum, visit www.wingluke.org

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Contact Information

Steve McLean
Senior Director of Strategic Communications
[email protected]
206-935-6566

Sage Quiamno
Communications
[email protected]
(808) 232-1321

SOURCE: Wing Luke Museum

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

J.Gomez--AT