Wing Luke Museum Staff Walkout in Protest of Controversial Exhibition

On May 22, 2024, the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle experienced a significant event: approximately twenty-six staff members participated in a walkout that led to the museum’s closure.

The walkout was in protest of a pop-up exhibition titled ‘Confronting Hate Together,’ which the staff claimed conflated anti-Zionism with antisemitism and failed to center Palestinian voices. This event occurred on the opening day of the exhibition.

The museum has been closed since the walkout; the exhibition is scheduled to run until June 30, 2024.

Additionally, the Wing Luke Museum staff have an Instagram account called WLM4Palestine, where they are making an urgent call for action.

“A collective of Wing Luke Museum workers participated in a walkout on Wednesday, May 22, and have been withholding labor in protest of Zionist language in the new exhibit “Confronting Hate Together”.

We love the Wing Luke Museum and are consistently honored to steward the stories of our community members, many of whom have experienced the destructive harm of white supremacy, genocide, and violence that parallels the experience of Palestinians today. Our solidarity with Palestine should be reflected in our AA/NHPI institutions. It sets a dangerous precedent of platforming colonial, white supremacist perspectives and goes against the Museum’s mission as a community-based museum advancing racial and social equity.

We invite you to send an email to the Wing Luke Museum’s Executive Leadership to show your support for our cause, to emphasize the significant negative impact that platforming Zionist ideology has on our communities, and the Wing Luke Museum’s credibility as a museum representing marginalized communities.”

The staff’s joint statement highlighted their demands;

“1. Remove any language in any WLM publication and question any partnerships that attempt to frame Palestinian liberation and anti-Zionism as antisemitism.”

“2.Acknowledge the limited perspectives presented in this exhibition. Missing perspectives include those of Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslim communities who are also experiencing an increased amount of violence, scapegoating, and demonization as Zionist forces continue the genocide in Palestine.”

“3.Require Community Advisory Committee (CAC) review of all pop-up exhibits including a community review of the revised Confronting Hate Together exhibit content.”

“4.Center voices and perspectives that align with the museum’s mission & values by platforming community stories within an anti-colonial, anti-white supremacist framework.”

Steve McLean, the director of communications for the Wing Luke Museum, mentioned that the museum has been “working with staff to address their calls to action” in response to the walkout over antisemitism concerns.

Read The Full Instagram Post