Framing Statement

My proposal is a week-long festival of Asian American artistry to celebrate the grand opening of the National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture. The biggest challenge: the museum does not exist yet. While researching topics for this project proposal, I stumbled upon bill H.R. 3525, which passed through Congress and was signed by President Biden in 2022, and the Friends of the National Asian Pacific American Museum committee, which is speaking up for the desires Asian Americans have for the museum. I am excited by this great unknown and saw this museum concept as an opportunity to explore what it takes to plan for a more immersive performing arts venue within the museum structure. Nothing is set in stone yet, and construction is not set to begin until 2034 at the earliest, so I theoretically could propose my ideas for a performing arts theatre and studio space to the planning committee with further research and refinement. The idea of giving back and planning a prosperous future for my home city of Washington D.C. is thrilling and inspiring, and as I completed this research proposal, I became more encouraged to get involved and make my thoughts heard to the committee.

I kept Bangladeshi-British choreographer Akram Khan’s notes on living history in mind while curating my theoretical grand opening festival. In an interview with Royona Mitra, Khan defines the dancing body “as an ongoing and unfolding living history that can claim a plurality of heritages with equal prowess,” an idea that resonates strongly with me as a multiracial, multicultural, multidisciplinary artist and woman (Mitra, 2017 p. 33). Additionally, racial and ethnic identity in the U.S. is a complex web of politics, immigrant narratives, historical prejudice, and ever evolving notions of justice and reform. Therefore, for Asian Americans, our history is a living and evolving one, with each individual embodying a plurality of heritages.

Additionally, Khan recognizes the pressure on artists of color who train in non-Western traditions to bear the “antiquated” and “authentic” pasts even though artists of color are also creative innovators, not just historical archivists; he does not want to perpetuate the idea of a “culturally monolithic past,” in which non-Western culture is frozen in time (Mitra, 2017 p. 32). With a museum dedicated to a specific racial and ethnic group within a Western, predominantly white American culture, it is crucial to ensure that the museum is not seeking out artists of Asian descent to represent only the traditional history of their culture. History and culture are ever evolving, as should the museum space.

Another concern with showcasing culturally specific dances in a Western museum space is avoiding the perpetuation of colonial ideology. As I wrote in my blog, the U.S. has its own history of imperialism and imparting American ideology onto cultures that were deemed primitive or savage; this was the “White Man’s Burden” philosophy that fueled much of American expansion into the Pacific Islands, occupying Hawaii, now a U.S. state, and the Philippines, now an independent nation (Murphy, 2010). In 2024 and beyond, the theories of looking at museum exhibitions and live performances must be considered to avoid the racist, condescending perspectives of the past. For example, Filipino people were displayed in enclosures at “human zoos” in the U.S., including Coney Island and the St. Louis World Fair in 1904, alongside animals and often in poor living conditions (Rare Historical Photos, 2024). The early Smithsonian Museums, namely the National Museum of the American Indian, initially took advantage of indigenous communities and stole artifacts to display in the capital. It is imperative that steps be taken to avoid displaying, dehumanizing, and exploiting other BIPOC people in museum spaces. These imperial legacies and histories must be addressed, but they need not be preserved. 

My proposal is very conceptual due to the very early stages of museum planning and construction design. However, I think this can be advantageous in that my curatorial proposal can impact the design of the space rather than adapt to an existing museum space that may not typically showcase live performances. My blog includes evidence from what has already been accomplished by the Smithsonian Institution and local arts institutions, including the Washington Ballet and the Kennedy Center, for perspective on what is within the realm of possibility for this brand new museum. I also referenced week-long dance festivals, specifically Final Bow for Yellowface’s “10,000 Dreams: A Celebration of Asian Choreography” collaboration with the Kennedy Center to draft my program example. Moving forward, I am considering reaching out to the museum committee to learn more about budget allocations, architectural design procedures, and other more specific planning details not available online.