Dates & times
All times are local to the venue · America/Los Angeles
- 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Ripples and Waves: AANHPI Mental Health Opening Reception at Wing Luke Museum
Ammara Touch’s poem “I Wish You a Soft Place to Land” considers self-worth, boundaries and grief in the context of family and social expectations. It is one part of an exhibition that views mental health in Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities as shaped by culture and connection as well as individual experience. The opening reception at Wing Luke Museum pairs gallery viewing with a short speaking program, community games and therapy karaoke.
A poem and a broader frame for care
Touch’s free-verse poem, “I Wish You a Soft Place to Land,” follows the work of reclaiming self-worth amid expectations from family, relationships and society. Its subjects include identity, boundaries, grief and self-compassion. The exhibition places the poem alongside artwork, personal mementos and stories, offering a personal entry into questions about mental health and well-being.
The show asks visitors to consider mental health as a shared responsibility, not solely an individual struggle. It points to heritage stories, knowledge and traditions as sources of resilience, and makes room for culturally rooted practices and broader ideas of wellness and unwellness. That framing gives the exhibition a community and cultural focus, rather than presenting mental health only through an individual lens.
Ripples and Waves: Mental Health and Well-Being in Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Communities is listed as on view in the New Dialogues Initiative Gallery from Nov. 5, 2026, through July 11, 2027. Those are the exhibition dates; the opening reception is a single evening.
Further reading: Ripples and Waves: AANHPI Mental and Well-Being Opening Reception — Wing Luke Museum ↗ · Ripples and Waves | Mental Health, Resilience & Healing in AANHPI Communities — Wing Luke Museum ↗
Community partners, with distinct roles
The exhibition’s partner organizations connect its broad idea of care to different kinds of community support. Asian Counseling and Referral Service works in culturally responsive mental health, substance-use recovery and community wellness, drawing on the experiences of AANHPI immigrant and refugee communities. International Community Health Services offers medical, dental and mental health care, as well as language and care navigation, and is rooted in Seattle’s Asian Pacific Islander communities.
Other partners address specific forms of support. API Chaya provides culturally specific advocacy and violence-prevention services for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. A Resting Place offers culturally grounded grief support, resources and community space for people experiencing loss in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District.
Khmer Community of Seattle-King County provides culturally rooted programs and gathering spaces for Khmer elders, youth and families. UTOPIA Washington supports queer and trans Pacific Islanders and LGBTQIA+ communities through programs, advocacy and community support. These organizations are identified as exhibition partners; the reception listing does not announce them as activity hosts or scheduled speakers.
Further reading: Ripples and Waves | Mental Health, Resilience & Healing in AANHPI Communities — Wing Luke Museum ↗ · Ripples and Waves: AANHPI Mental and Well-Being Opening Reception — Wing Luke Museum ↗
The later activities happen at the same time
The exhibition and other museum galleries remain available to reception attendees during the evening. The short speaking program comes before the two later options: Therapy Karaoke in the Tateuchi Story Theatre, or community games and refreshments in the Community Hall. Those activities overlap in separate first-floor rooms, so visitors interested in both will need to choose how to divide their time.
The museum invites attendees to meet museum members, special guests and exhibition contributors. Its listing does not name the speakers or individual karaoke performers.
Further reading: Ripples and Waves: AANHPI Mental and Well-Being Opening Reception — Wing Luke Museum ↗
How the evening is arranged
Gallery viewing and refreshments run through the reception. After the short speaking program, karaoke and community games take place concurrently in separate first-floor rooms; other museum exhibition galleries are also open to attendees.
Thursday, November 5, 2026 · New Dialogues Gallery, first floor
- View Ripples and Waves
Thursday, November 5, 2026 · Community Hall, first floor
- Light refreshments
- Short speaking program
- Community games and light refreshments
Thursday, November 5, 2026 · Tateuchi Story Theatre, first floor
- Therapy Karaoke
Plan your visit
Thursday, November 5, 2026
The reception runs from 5 to 8 p.m. at Wing Luke Museum, 719 South King Street, Seattle, WA 98104.
Ripples and Waves: AANHPI Mental and Well-Being Opening Reception — Wing Luke Museum ↗
Free; registration is offered
Admission to this in-person reception is free. The museum offers online registration but does not state that it is required. It warns that program spaces may reach capacity without specifying which spaces or activities could fill.
Light refreshments are provided in the Community Hall.
Ripples and Waves: AANHPI Mental and Well-Being Opening Reception — Wing Luke Museum ↗
General museum guidance
The reception listing gives no event-specific age policy. The museum’s general guidance says children under 14 must be supervised by an adult.
Visitors with symptoms of illness are asked to visit another time. Masks are optional; the museum encourages their use and makes masks available.
Ripples and Waves: AANHPI Mental and Well-Being Opening Reception — Wing Luke Museum ↗ · Frequently Asked Questions — Wing Luke Museum ↗ · Visitor's Guide — Wing Luke Museum ↗
Scheduled activities are on the first floor
The event listing places the gallery and scheduled activities on the first floor. The museum reports elevator access to all three floors and ramps in some first-floor areas. Benches and armrest chairs are available throughout.
Museum restrooms have an accessible stall and a diaper-changing station. The first-floor restrooms are designated for women and men; the mezzanine restroom is all-gender. Event-specific accommodation arrangements are not detailed. For accommodation questions, contact the museum at 206-623-5124 or [email protected].
Ripples and Waves: AANHPI Mental and Well-Being Opening Reception — Wing Luke Museum ↗
Getting to Wing Luke Museum
Entrance and address
The event is at Wing Luke Museum, 719 South King Street, Seattle, WA 98104. The museum entrance faces South King Street at the corner of South King Street and 8th Avenue; 30-minute loading zones are available on King Street and 8th Street. Use the map or directions link to plan a route from your starting point.
Ripples and Waves: AANHPI Mental and Well-Being Opening Reception — Wing Luke Museum ↗ · Accessibility — Wing Luke Museum ↗
Transit
The Chinatown-International District Link Light Rail station, with exits on South King Street or South Jackson Street, is about four blocks west of the museum. King County Metro routes 7, 14 and 36 serve the museum. King Street Station is about five blocks, or 0.5 miles, west.
Parking
There is no on-site parking. Public paid parking lots are within five blocks; metered and timed street-parking rules apply, so check posted signs.
Visitor's Guide — Wing Luke Museum ↗ · Accessibility — Wing Luke Museum ↗
Before you make a plan
Do I have to register in advance?
The museum offers online registration but does not state that it is required. It warns that program spaces may reach capacity.
Ripples and Waves: AANHPI Mental and Well-Being Opening Reception — Wing Luke Museum ↗
Can I view other museum galleries during the reception?
Yes. The event listing says other exhibition galleries will be available to reception attendees throughout the evening, in addition to Ripples and Waves.
Ripples and Waves: AANHPI Mental and Well-Being Opening Reception — Wing Luke Museum ↗
Are the karaoke performers or songs announced?
The listing credits Seattle’s Best Karaoke (SBK) with supplying the system, but does not name performers or provide a song list.
Ripples and Waves: AANHPI Mental and Well-Being Opening Reception — Wing Luke Museum ↗
Are all scheduled activities on the same floor?
The event listing places the New Dialogues Gallery, Community Hall and Tateuchi Story Theatre on the first floor.
Ripples and Waves: AANHPI Mental and Well-Being Opening Reception — Wing Luke Museum ↗
Location & Google Maps
Wing Luke Museum
719 South King Street, Seattle, WA 98104
Map search by venue and address. Check the organiser’s entrance details before travelling.