Seattle Challenges Community with Major Wing Luke Museum Gift

SEATTLE, WA – Today, Nov. 6, 2025 The Wing Luke Museum announced a donation of $50,000 from Seattle FIFA World Cup 26™ Local Organizing Committee (LOC) to support the Museum’s Chinese American Legacy Art Project (CALAP), a public art installation planned for Seattle’s waterfront. SeattleFWC26 calls on soccer fans across the city, state, and world to match and exceed this donation.

SeattleFWC26 embraces its responsibility to use the excitement and attention of the world’s largest sporting event to advance projects and priorities of the communities closest to the stadium in Seattle, which will host six FIFA World Cup 26™ matches next year. Soccer fans everywhere can join SeattleFWC26 and The Wing Luke Museum to show what soccer in service of community can accomplish. Even small donations from soccer fans everywhere can make this important and timely vision a reality.

Everyone inspired to donate and join this effort may visit the CALAP webpage.

The art project acknowledges the 1886 Chinese expulsion in Seattle, which included the violent and inhumane round up hundreds of Chinese immigrants, forcing them to Seattle’s waterfront for expulsion. The effort, led by a local labor union, and including hundreds of rioters, resulted in violence, injury, death and, finally, martial law. This period in Seattle’s history is often overlooked and forgotten; the installation serves as a powerful and lasting reminder of this event and the people affected by it.

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"Hosting the FIFA World Cup gives us a platform to share Seattle's full story with the world—including the chapters that are painful to confront,” said Peter Tomozawa, CEO of SeattleFWC26. “When visitors come to Seattle next summer, we want them to see more than just great soccer—we want them to see a city that faces its history honestly and honors the communities who built it. The 1886 expulsion of Chinese immigrants is a part of our history that demands remembrance and reflection, and this waterfront installation will serve as a permanent reminder of that injustice and the resilience of those who faced it. This is exactly the kind of lasting legacy we're committed to creating. We're challenging soccer fans everywhere: help us match this $50,000 donation and show what the global soccer community can accomplish when we come together for something that matters."

SeattleFWC26 donation represents a sizable investment in the project, which has currently raised approximately 58% of funds needed. SeattleFWC26 leadership recognizes the project as an important part of preserving Seattle’s cultural legacy and hopes it inspires others to support the project.  

Years in the Making

The idea was initiated more than 20 years ago by Doug Chin, community historian who was then the president of OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates of Greater Seattle. A Governing Committee with the Wing Luke Museum as fiscal sponsor was later established to erect the CALAP at Occidental Park, adjacent to the historical space of the Chinese settlement in that era. Chin noted that "next year is the 140th anniversary of this historical mistake. We must learn from this past to become a more truly inclusive city.”

The City of Seattle and members of the local Chinese American Community have contributed the bulk of the funds for the project. “It has been a struggle to obtain the needed funds to complete this project, but we are very close to obtaining the needed funds to realize it,” said Wren Wheeler, Civic Engagement Specialist at the Wing Luke Museum. “So, we very much appreciate the donation and support from SeattleFWC26. Hopefully, we will get enough funds from the match that the local FIFA is offering to get us over the hump.”

Individuals inspired to donate may visit the CALAP webpage.

About Seattle FIFA World Cup 26™ Local Organizing Committee
SeattleFWC26 is the local organizing committee for Seattle’s participation as one of the 16 Host Cities selected for the FIFA World Cup 26™. As a not-for-profit organization, SeattleFWC26’s vision is to foster a lasting legacy for our region, guided by the spirit of soccer, innovation, and inclusion. To keep up to date on the latest news and involvement opportunities with SeattleFWC26, please visit https://www.seattlefwc26.org/get-involved.

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 to advance racial and social equity. 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 the  first Asian American to hold elected office in King County. To learn more about the Museum, visit www.wingluke.org  

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